EBRD instrumental in key energy efficiency laws adopted by Georgia aimed at helping the country strengthen its energy links with the EU

EBRD instrumental in key energy efficiency laws adopted by Georgia aimed at helping the country strengthen its energy links with the EU

• Government of Georgia adopts key energy efficiency laws
• Focus on reducing energy intensity while strengthening resilience of the economy
• EBRD supported drafting of reform concept

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 17-Jul-2020 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced it welcomes Georgia‘s adoption of two key energy efficiency laws, the Law on Energy Efficiency and the Law on Energy Performance of Buildings. The two new pieces of legislation are important milestones for Georgia in meeting its requirements under the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), as well as its membership of the Energy Community, an international agreement that brings the European Union and its neighbours together to create a pan-European energy market.

These laws will enable Georgia to realise energy savings of 14 per cent by 2025, thereby helping the country to meet its international obligations in combating climate change, increase its energy security and strengthen its energy links with the EU. In addition, these laws will help improve the energy performance standards for new constructions and building retrofits in line with EU standards.

The initiative that paved the way for these laws was conceptualised in late 2015, when the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development started working on a draft of the first National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) with the EBRD. This work benefited from support from the Swedish International Development Agency.

The NEEAP addressed challenges such as reducing the economy’s energy intensity, while allowing for continued economic growth and compliance with the country’s international commitments. It was a set of measures that Georgia needed to undertake in order to improve its energy efficiency, and provided a roadmap to the adoption of these two new laws which were drafted with support from the EBRD and the Energy Community Secretariat.

Commenting on the new legislation, Catarina Bjorlin Hansen, EBRD Regional Director for the Caucasus, said: “This is an outstanding achievement for Georgia. The legislation opens new investment opportunities with greener technologies while boosting the usage of energy from ecologically cleaner sources. Emissions reduction and climate mitigation are a big part of the EBRD’s strategy going forward.”

Her comments were echoed by Vesselina Haralampieva, Senior Counsel in the Legal Transition Programme, who led the EBRD’s work on the Energy Efficiency Law and the NEEAP: “The adoption of the new energy efficiency laws is a landmark achievement for Georgia, which until now had virtually no energy efficiency regulations in place and very limited investment in energy performance,” she explained.

“The NEEAP, adopted in 2019, is Georgia’s signal to the world that it is prioritising energy efficiency policies and investment, which will result in better energy services for consumers, well-insulated homes with less wasted energy, and ultimately a more competitive economy.”

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SOURCE: EBRD