EBRD donors meet ahead of the Bank’s Annual Meeting

Donors to the EBRD met in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev ahead of the Bank’s Annual Meeting to discuss priorities for the year ahead.

Adaptation to climate change, security of energy, food and water are some of the challenges that donors and the EBRD are looking to tackle together.

Thanking donor governments for supporting the EBRD, President Jean Lemierre reminded donors that by working in partnership the EBRD and donors can make a huge contribution to improving people’s lives.

“Donors have pushed policies and projects in the Bank forward. We should continue to act together on the most pressing issues in the region,” said President Lemierre.

In an open forum, donors, representatives from the private sector and international financial institutions discussed ways of coping with a world that is becoming more energy intensive and with scarce resources of water and food.

On energy, Tatsuo Yamasaki of the Ministry of Finance of Japan recounted his country’s success story. Japan has become a low carbon society with CO2 emissions per unit of GDP half the level of OECD countries. It contributes to the EBRD’s Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI) which was established in 2006 to address the inefficient use of energy in the EBRD region. At the Donor Meeting in Kiev, Japan pledged an additional €3 million in support of SEI.

SEI has financed over 100 projects in the region with €1.7 billion in EBRD financing. The European Community, Japan, France, Germany, the UK and USA are major donors of SEI.

Mr Yamasaki praised the EBRD for taking the lead in addressing energy efficiency and renewable energy issues in the region through its Sustainable Energy Initiative.

About 80 per cent of SEI projects implemented in 2007 have targeted the private sector. Today the EBRD awarded three Ukrainian beneficiaries of the Initiative for excellence in energy efficiency. A cement producer, a paper mill and a bread producer are just three out of 60 clients that have benefited from the EBRD’s Energy Efficiency Programme for Ukraine (UKEEP).

UKEEP is a €100 million credit facility developed by the EBRD for Ukrainian participating banks to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in the private sector. With donor support from Austria and Sweden, UKEEP is turning the Ukrainian private sector from energy intensive into energy efficient. Ukraine consumes three times more energy per unit than the EU average.

“But energy is just one of the issues that challenge sustainable growth,” said President Lemierre. “Reliable access to clean water to meet residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural needs is a growing concern. So, too, are questions facing governments and businesses about how best to adapt to climate change, and how to overcome the constraints to agriculture and food production. “

The EBRD is now contributing more from its own resources to complement the funds provided by donors. It has created a Shareholders’ Special Fund with €115 million in grants that will complement current donor funding. The Fund will focus on countries and sectors where the transition impact is the highest and where there are funding gaps. It will co-fund projects together with the Bank’s donors.

Hans Sprokkreeff, the EBRD Alternate Board Director for the Netherlands, reminded donors that their technical cooperation assistance and grant co-financing remain key in implementing projects and delivering services to the poorest people in the EBRD region.

President Lemierre echoed the remark: “The Shareholders’ Special Fund is a result of the donors’ generosity and not a substitution of your generosity. Let’s stay focused on the needs of the region and help the people who have chosen democracy as their way of life.”

By Marjola Xhunga, Communications Advisor
Contact: Offical co-financing unit