Friday, July 7 2017 19:27

ArmInfo. Armenia will receive from the Green Development Fund of the United Nations Development Program a grant of $ 20 million to implement a program to reduce the risks of investments aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings. The official signing ceremony took place on July 7 in Yerevan. Minister of Nature Protection Artsvik Minasyan and UN Program Coordinator Bradley Buzetto signed the agreement.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Nature Protection, the program implemented by the Green Climate Fund will be the 10th in the world and the first in the space of the Eurasian Economic Union. The Ministry of Nature Protection, the Yerevan Municipality and other interested departments, modified the document. As Artsvik Minasyan noted, the implementation of the project will provide an opportunity to support not only the protection of nature, but will give a social and economic effect.

According to Bradley Buzetto, the implementation of the program will increase the energy security of Armenia and ensure the fulfillment of the obligations of the Republic under the Paris Agreement.

To note, the program will focus on ensuring the availability of expenditures for vulnerable households, as well as creating a favorable market environment for investment and creating a full-scale business model. In Armenia, about 30% of the country's inhabitants are considered to be "power poor", as more than 10% of the entire family budget is used to cover expenses for used energy resources. At the same time, the program envisages energy efficiency of 50-60%, which will lead to cost savings. In addition, the implementation of the project for 20 years will reduce emissions to the atmosphere of 5.4 million tons of CO2.