Istanbul, Turkey, November 28, 2012
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is helping governments in developing countries form partnerships with the private sector to expand access to renewable energy and address the challenges of climate change.
IFC hosted a two-day workshop on public-private partnerships in renewable energy. It brought together government representatives and private sector executives from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. The workshop covered solar, geothermal, wind and hydropower energy and also addressed legal and regulatory issues in the design and implementation of public-private partnerships in renewable energy.
“The energy sector has a significant role to play in enhancing sustainable development,” said Dimitris Tsitsiragos, IFC Vice President for Eastern and Southern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa. “In particular, renewable-energy technologies are the most sustainable solution to meet the ever-growing demand for energy. They offer cost-effective, reliable, and safe energy generation.”
More than1.6 billion people worldwide live without access to electricity, while many more are faced with expensive and unreliable service. But progress is being achieved in increasing access to cleaner power sources. In 2011, almost 35 percent of global private investment in renewable energy took place in developing economies.
Since 2008, IFC has invested about $2.4 billion in more than 80 renewable-energy projects in 30 countries. In the 2012 fiscal year, about one-third of IFC’s PPP mandates signed were in climate-related areas.
The workshop was the first in a new series of IFC workshops examining the role public-private partnerships can play in addressing climate change and expanding the use of renewable energy in developing countries. Partners funding the series include the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa, the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility. Future workshops are planned for the municipal solid waste and water sectors.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
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