The FINANCIAL — Istanbul, Turkey. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, provided over $800 million to support 22 climate-smart investment projects in Europe and Central Asia in fiscal year 2016, helping its clients improve resource and energy efficiency, expand sustainable urban infrastructure, and increase access to renewable energy.
Over $220 million of the total was invested in green buildings projects in Turkey, Bulgaria and Georgia, helping to reduce water, heat and energy consumption and losses in commercial buildings. About $240 million was directed to renewable energy projects in Turkey and Armenia, to support the rehabilitation and development of hydro, solar and wind power stations, according to IFC.
A particularly important theme for IFC was sustainable cities, which focuses on developing modern, energy-efficient urban infrastructure, including public transport, water and solid waste management, through state-of-the-art projects and public-private partnerships. In FY16, IFC supported the expansion of the Istanbul metro and Heksagon waste management company in Turkey, which offers solutions to turn urban solid waste into energy and fertilizer, and is now looking for similar sustainable projects across the region.
The year also marked IFC’s first green bonds transaction in the region with the Turkish Bank TSKB, to attract institutional investors to finance a portfolio of green projects across industries.
“Every third dollar of our investments in the region over the past year was climate smart,” said Tomasz Telma, IFC Director for Europe and Central Asia. “In addition to finance, we provide advisory services to manufacturing companies and financial institutions across the region to maximize impact, and leverage private sector resources to improve efficiency and invest in new technologies.”
In FY16, IFC invested over $2.9 billion in Europe and Central Asia, including $570 million in mobilized funds, to support the growth of sustainable private companies and contribute to long-term economic development across the region.
IFC’s goal is to make climate investments 28 percent of its annual new commitments by 2020.
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