GEF Grant to Help Boost Energy Efficiency in Three Chinese Provinces

PRESS RELEASE

WASHINGTON, DC, March 28, 2011 – On February 24, 2011, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) approved a grant of $13.6 million to the People’s Republic of China to improve quality and sustainability of energy efficiency programs in Shandong, Shanxi and Jiangxi provinces. The GEF grant will finance technical assistance and capacity building activities of the project that is being implemented by the World Bank. Cofinancing partners are providing additional funding of $313 million to this project. It will help the selected three Chinese provinces to meet their energy efficiency goals, by strengthening their institutional systems, improving implementation capacity, and deploying more market-based incentive mechanisms for energy efficiency investments.

China is making unprecedented efforts to improve energy efficiency, and launched an ambitious set of energy conservation policies, regulations and programs during the 11th Five Year Plan (2006-2010). The 12th Five Year Plan (2011-2015) that has been just announced lays out a path for continued efforts in energy conservation. Provincial governments play a critical role in implementation of the country’s energy conservation drive, because this is the government level that interfaces with large consumers, consolidates resources for specific activities, and organizes implementation on the ground. During the 12th Five-Year Plan, the provinces are faced with the challenge to accelerate delivery of energy efficiency through the timely but effective design and implementation of huge, largely new, comprehensive energy conservation programs. However, local human and financial capacities need strengthening to meet the challenge.

"This effort will result in Greenhouse Gas emission reduction of over 100 million tons by the end of the project. In addition, it will also lead to a reduction of 1 million ton of SO2, 0.5 million ton of TSP (Total Suspended Particulate) and significant amounts of other pollutants. But more importantly, the GEF project is expected to create an enabling environment through policy development and capacity building, which over time will lead to more significantly increased energy efficiency investments by other stakeholders as well”, said Monique Barbut, CEO and Chairperson of the GEF.

In all three provinces, the project will support activities to help to develop energy efficiency service industry, establish an energy efficiency monitoring, supervision, and information dissemination platform, and build capacity for energy efficiency program management and supervision in local public-sector implementing agencies. In addition, in Shanxi and Jiangxi Provinces, the project will assist in developing energy pricing and fiscal policies to strengthen incentives for energy efficiency activities and investments, and strengthening the energy efficiency statistics system. It will also help develop an energy efficiency appraisal system for fixed-assets investment in Jiangxi Province and support expansion of the building energy efficiency program in public buildings in Shanxi Province.

Energy efficiency has been a focus of the World Bank’s program in China. The Bank has introduced energy conservation program concepts and helped to customize them to China’s local circumstances. One example has been the introduction, adaptation and scale up of energy performance contracting through the First and Second WB/GEF China Energy Conservation Projects. The new project is part of a recent multi-year initiative by the World Bank in partnership with Chinese agencies and other international partners to support continuing and increasing energy efficiency gains through provincial government programs, including both investment financing and technical assistance.

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About the Global Environment Facility
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) unites 182 member governments — in partnership with international institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector — to address global environmental issues. An independently operating financial organization, the GEF provides grants to developing countries and countries with economies in transition for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants. These projects benefit the global environment, linking local, national, and global environmental challenges and promoting sustainable livelihoods.

Established in 1991, the GEF is today the largest public funder of projects to improve the global environment. The GEF has allocated $9.2 billion, supplemented by more than $40 billion in cofinancing, for more than 2,700 projects in more than 165 developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Through its Small Grants Programme (SGP), the GEF has also made more than 12,000 small grants directly to nongovernmental and community organizations, totaling $495 million.

For more information: www.thegef.org

Christian Hofer
Senior Communications Officer
Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Washington DC, 20433 USA
Phone: (202) 458-0936 Fax: (202) 522-3240
Email: chofer@thegef.org