Kyiv, Ukraine, October 14, 2010
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, in partnership with the Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs, known as SECO, has launched a new advisory project that will promote energy-efficient modernization of residential buildings in Ukraine and reduce energy waste and greenhouse-gas emissions.
As the second-largest end-user of energy in Ukraine after manufacturing, the residential housing sector has the greatest potential for energy savings and greenhouse gas emissions reduction in the region. Investments in energy-saving measures in the country’s residential market could reduce gas consumption by about 30 percent and result in energy savings of up to 40 percent.
“Climate change is a global issue that should be addressed at the grassroots level,” said George Zubler, Ambassador of Switzerland in Ukraine. “We are pleased to support the expansion of IFC’s energy efficiency advisory program into the residential sector in Ukraine and believe it will have a positive impact on people, businesses, and the entire country.”
Elena Voloshina, IFC Country Representative in Ukraine, said: “Energy efficiency is one of our long-term development priorities for Ukraine, and this project is fully in line with our strategy. IFC has experience implementing similar programs in Central Europe. Our new project will play a catalytic role in developing the market for residential energy efficiency in Ukraine.”
To help Ukraine realize its energy efficiency potential in the residential sector, IFC will work with banks to stimulate them to finance investment in the energy-efficient renovation of residential multi-family buildings, with homeowner associations and management companies to help them find economically attractive solutions, and with the Ukrainian legislature to improve regulation related to this market.
IFC’s Residential Energy Efficiency Advisory Project in Ukraine will be implemented over three years.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives—by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and provide essential services, mobilizing capital from others, and delivering advisory and risk-management 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
www.ifc.org
.
About SECO
The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO is the Swiss Confederation government's centre of expertise for all core issues relating to economic policy. Its aim is to ensure sustainable economic growth by putting in place the necessary regulatory and economic policy conditions. SECO’s technical cooperation is represented in Ukraine by the Swiss Cooperation Office Ukraine. For more information, visit
www.swiss-cooperation.admin.ch/ukraine
or
www.seco.admin.ch
.
