Kiev, Ukraine, Feb 9, 2012
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today agreed with Ukraine’s Ministry for Regional Development to help promote energy-efficient renovation in the country’s residential sector to reduce energy waste and greenhouse gas emissions.
IFC and ministry experts will work together on legislative changes to enable local homeowner associations and housing management companies to access finance to improve energy efficiency in multi-family residential buildings. They will also launch an awareness campaign to promote best practices in financing residential energy-efficiency projects.
“Energy-efficiency reform in the residential sector starts with real ownership and good management practices,” said Anatoly Bliznyuk, Ukraine’s Minister for Regional Development. “With IFC’s expert advice we hope to change the situation for the better and make 50 percent energy loss in Ukraine’s residential sector a thing of the past.”
The housing sector in Ukraine consumes approximately 25 percent of the country’s electricity and 40 percent of its heat-energy resources. The country’s housing stock is old and inefficient, and poorly insulated buildings can lose from 30 to 50 percent of their heat to the environment. IFC’s new agreement with Ukraine will help turn that situation around.
“Investments with simple payback terms can result in heat-energy savings of 30 to 40 percent, and the reduction of gas consumption by 25 to 30 percent,” said Rufat Alimardanov, IFC’s Country Manager for Ukraine and Belarus. “However, many homeowner associations lack awareness of the economic benefits of such investments. We are working with the government, local banks, and homeowner associations to boost modernization of the residential sector.”
The IFC Ukraine Residential Energy Efficiency Project was launched in 2010 and is being implemented in partnership with Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, SECO. The project is helping Ukraine reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by one million tons, equivalent to the country’s emissions from three days’ electricity consumption.
The project also will help to achieve Ukraine’s targets to reduce energy intensity by 20 percent by 2015, and by 50 percent by 2030
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It will also contribute to decreasing Ukraine’s dependence on imported gas, mitigating energy supply security risks and decreasing the cost of energy supply.
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, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, we helped our clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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