The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has launched its Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) in Moldova, with a view to bringing new ecological technology to the country’s citizens. The Moldovan facility comprises a credit line of up to €20 million, available through local banks, as well as free advice to beneficiaries on appropriate technologies.
Individuals, homeowners’ associations and private companies can benefit from the green technology loans. They can invest in climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies and services, such as thermal insulation for buildings, energy-efficient windows, light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, heat pumps, photovoltaic generation and storage systems, and electric vehicles, as well as drip irrigation lines and agricultural preservation and rainwater harvesting equipment. The complete list of technologies can be found on the GEFF in Moldova website.
“The GEFF in Moldova is part of an ambitious EBRD programme, co-financed by the Green Climate Fund, to finance climate change mitigation and adaptation activities. Previous EBRD programmes have clearly demonstrated that private-sector investment is essential to building greener economies and strengthening resilience to climate change in the EBRD regions,” said Angela Sax, Head of the EBRD Office in Moldova.
The GEFF will support Moldova in achieving the objective of the Paris Agreement to keep global average temperature growth well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. The Moldovan capital, Chisinau, has already committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions up to 70 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030.
The launch event, which featured success stories on previous EBRD programmes dedicated to Moldova’s residential and corporate sectors, was attended by representatives of the public and private sectors.
Nadejda Litvac, EBRD Principal Banker in Moldova, introduced the GEFF programme, highlighting that it will also support activities aimed at improving equal opportunities for women and men in accessing funding for green technologies. “The GEFF is the only green funding programme in Moldova that also focuses on gender issues,” she said. “The GEFF means not only access to finance, but also to knowledge and technology.”
With financial resources from the Green Climate Fund and the government of Turkey, a group of technical and financial experts, known as Facility Consultants, will help strengthen the capacities of partner financial institutions and provide knowledge to private-sector clients on green technologies. In addition, they will provide support on project evaluation and guide loan recipients in choosing the optimal technology.
Moldova Agroindbank (MAIB) is the first bank to sign a financing agreement with the EBRD through the GEFF in Moldova, worth €5 million.
“MAIB can play a leading role in accelerating the transition to a sustainable economy in Moldova,” said Vitalie Lungu, Vice President of the Board of Directors of MAIB. “It is a great opportunity to give our customers access to this new line of financing and to support the sustainable, green investment aspirations of both individual and business customers, many of them working in the agricultural sector. This will enable us to offer our clients loan products that correspond to their final needs and development path.”
It is estimated that the GEFF programme will help Moldova to reduce its annual energy consumption by 108,800 GJ, the equivalent of more than 6,000 households. At the same time, CO2 emissions could be cut by 9,880 tonnes a year, akin to taking more than 5,000 cars off the road.
Worldwide, the GEFF programme operates through a network of more than 145 local financial institutions in 27 countries, supported by more than €4.6 billion in funding from the EBRD. To date, more than 190,000 customers have benefited from it, with projects that have led to reductions in CO2 emissions of more than 8.6 million tonnes annually.
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