Moscow, Russian Federation, May 12, 2011
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will cooperate with the Russian Energy Agency to help the country improve energy efficiency in industry and housing, develop a renewable energy market, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
IFC and the Russian Energy Agency today signed a memorandum of understanding that brings IFC’s global expertise together with the agency’s national knowledge and large regional network to support new investment opportunities throughout Russia. Through this partnership, IFC and the Russian Energy Agency will educate the market about the benefits of investment in residential and industrial energy efficiency, develop pilot renewable energy projects in the regions, and disseminate best practices on resource efficiency.
In 2008, the Russian government set targets to reduce the country’s GDP energy intensity by 40 percent and to increase renewable energy’s share of total electricity generation to 4.5 percent by 2020. To fully realize these ambitious plans, Russia will need to invest about $320 billion in energy efficiency and approximately $44 billion in renewable energy.
“Energy and resource efficiency and renewable energy are key factors for the modernization of Russia’s economy,” said Timur Ivanov, Director General of the Russian Energy Agency. “The Russian Energy Agency is supporting the implementation of the federal law on energy saving and energy efficiency improvement in order to create a platform for interaction between different market players, and to serve as an information exchange point between the regions. With support from the IFC, we can fulfill these tasks more effectively.”
“We have been working on these issues in Russia since 2005, and could not have achieved such successful results without support from our Russian stakeholders and partners,” said Snezana Stoiljkovic, IFC Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. “IFC investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy in Russia have amounted to almost $400 million since 2005, and I believe that joining forces with the Russian Energy Agency will support greater development of the market and lead to even more effective results.”
Investments in energy efficiency would enable Russia to save 240 billion cubic meters of natural gas, 89 million tons of coal, 340 billion kWh of electricity, and 43 million tons of crude oil. Reaching the 4.5 percent target in renewable energy would save an additional 41.5 million tons of coal per year and avoid more than 36 million tons of annual carbon-dioxide emissions, the latter being equivalent to taking 8 million cars off Russia’s roads.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit
http://www.ifc.org
.
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About the Russian Energy Agency
Established in 2009 under the Russian Energy Efficiency law, the Agency is an implementing arm of the Ministry of Energy of Russia on issues of energy efficiency and renewable energy. Possessing a wide network of regional branches all over Russia, the Agency is a nationwide promoter of activities in energy efficiency and renewable energy, facilitating the projects, creating business opportunities, and shaping the related market and institutional infrastructure. For more information, visit:
www.rosenergo.gov.ru
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