EBRD focuses on stable energy
2013-12-11 17:25:49
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a new strategy of investments in the energy and natural resources sector over next five years.
The EBRD press service told Ukrinform about this.
"In this strategy of the EBRD, which is the largest investor in the projects in the sphere of renewable energy and energy efficiency in its region of operations, undertakes to render assistance to the countries in reaching greater stability of energy in the future," a statement reads.
In the region of the EBRD operations, which comprises the countries from Morocco to Mongolia, there is a task of stable, reliable and affordable by price provision with energy. Energy efficiency is determined as the first and the most optimal way of solving this task in the strategy of the energy sector activities.
The revised EBRD policy in two important spheres is also taken into consideration in the new strategy. The document envisages further development of the Initiative for ensuring transparency in extraction sectors: the bank will demand from clients, working in extraction industries, to disclose information about agreements and licenses for development of mineral resources, as well as about all their payments to local and national authorities.
As regards coal generating capacities, a transfer is supported to fuel sources with the lower carbon contents to solve a problem of the climate change. As other international finance organizations, the EBRD will not finance the projects for production of energy at coal electric stations, except for rear and exclusive cases when real alternative energy sources are absent.
The strategy also envisages further strengthening of the EBRD's active support to renewable energy, which will include financing of both capacities for production of electric energy and the most important infrastructure, for instance, transmitting lines and reserve generating capacities.
This strategy of the EBRD became the first, adopted with the aim of development of the energy sector after the bank started work in the countries of southern and eastern Mediterranean region - Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. The strategy pays attention, in particular, to the fact how to satisfy growing demand, reduce subsidies in the power economy, to minimize the use of water and to use the richest resources of wind and solar energy in this region.