8 February 2012: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested €2.6 billion in sustainable energy projects in 2011 in response to the need to increase energy efficiency and support low-carbon growth, the Bank has announced. The funding was made available through the Bank’s Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI), a strategy to reduce energy waste and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Investments under the SEI include large-scale industrial energy efficiency, sustainable energy financing facilities through financial intermediaries, power sector energy efficiency, renewable energy, municipal infrastructure energy efficiency and carbon market support. SEI is contributing to cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by more than 46 million tons a year since its start in 2006, the Bank notes.

The €2.6 billion in funding represents a 21 percent increase from 2010, and accounts for almost 30 percent of the EBRD’s total 2011 investments of €9 billion.

Josué Tanaka, EBRD’s Managing Director for Energy Efficiency and Climate Change, highlighted that sustainable energy investments will remain key to EBRD’s approach, as energy efficiency improvements represent the most effective way to mitigate climate change and strengthen the region’s economic competitiveness and energy security. As part of the SEI, EBRD created a business model that views the private sector as an agent for change in sustainable energy investments.

EBRD is currently developing the next SEI phase for 2012-2014, which is expected to be launched in May 2012. [EBRD Press Release]