EBRD and Energy Community strengthen cooperation

The EBRD and the Energy Community Secretariat have signed a Memorandum of Understanding strengthening the organisations’ cooperation in the field of sustainable development with a focus on sustainable energy policy development in the Western Balkans, Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia.

The EBRD places a high priority on sustainable energy investments and the Energy Community is an international organisation for energy policy, established in October 2005. Members of the organisation include the European Union as well as countries from south-eastern Europe and the Black Sea region.

The agreement, signed in Vienna today, also allows the two institutions to explore new opportunities for cooperation on broader sustainability issues, including climate change.

Leveraging on their expertise, the two organisations will contribute to an enabling environment for sustainable investment and a smooth transition towards sustainable, low-carbon economies in south-eastern Europe and the Black Sea region.

Josué Tanaka, EBRD Managing Director, Energy Efficiency and Climate Change, said: “The EBRD values our collaboration with the Energy Community in promoting sustainable development. Together, we are already making a significant impact on energy efficiency. With today’s memorandum we are laying a sustainable basis for our future cooperation with shared work for joint goals.”

Janez Kopač, Director of the Energy Community Secretariat, added: “The Secretariat and the EBRD are long-standing partners in initiating and implementing regional energy efficiency programmes in the Western Balkans. Today’s agreement is an important step forward. It expands the scope of cooperation to new areas like action to combat climate change and it widens the geographical scope to the Black Sea region.”

The Energy Community Secretariat, based in Vienna, has the mandate to monitor the implementation of the treaty to create an integrated pan-European energy market, support investments, integrate climate and energy actions, pursue sustainability of energy systems and improve the environmental situation in its contracting parties.

The EBRD is a multilateral bank committed to foster transition towards open market-oriented economies and promote private and entrepreneurial initiatives in the more than 30 countries where in operates in Europe, Africa and Asia. Supporting energy efficiency and green energy is one of the Bank’s strategic priorities and under its Green Economy Transition (GET) approach the EBRD aims to increase its investments in this area to 40 per cent of its annual business investment by 2020.

Image Source: ERBD