Istanbul, Turkey, September 7, 2016
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, provided almost $800 million to support 22 climate-smart investment projects in Europe and Central Asia in fiscal year 2016, helping its clients improve resource and energy efficiency, expand sustainable urban infrastructure, and increase access to renewable energy.
Over $230 million of the total was invested in green buildings projects in Turkey, Bulgaria and Georgia, helping to reduce water, heat and energy consumption and losses in commercial buildings. About $225 million was directed to renewable energy projects in Turkey and Armenia, to support the rehabilitation and development of hydro, solar and wind power stations.
A particularly important theme for IFC was sustainable cities, which focuses on developing modern, energy-efficient urban infrastructure, including public transport, water and solid waste management, through state-of-the-art projects and public-private partnerships. In FY16, IFC supported the expansion of the Istanbul metro and Heksagon waste management company in Turkey, which offers solutions to turn urban solid waste into energy and fertilizer, and is now looking for similar sustainable projects across the region.
The year also marked IFC’s first green bonds transaction in the region with the Turkish Bank TSKB, to attract institutional investors to finance a portfolio of green projects across industries.
“Every third dollar of our investments in the region over the past year was climate smart,” said Tomasz Telma, IFC Director for Europe and Central Asia. “In addition to finance, we provide advisory services to manufacturing companies and financial institutions across the region to maximize impact, and leverage private sector resources to improve efficiency and invest in new technologies.”
In FY16, IFC invested over $2.6 billion in Europe and Central Asia, including $516 million in mobilized funds, to support the growth of sustainable private companies and contribute to long-term economic development across the region.
IFC’s goal is to make climate investments 28 percent of its global annual new commitments by 2020.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our six decades of experience to create opportunity where it’s needed most. In FY16, our long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $19 billion, leveraging our capital, expertise and influence to help the private sector end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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