The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Kyrgyz Republic are addressing climate related risks in the country by launching a Climate Finance Centre (CFC), which will help bridge financial assistance available through the national and international climate funds such as the Green Climate Fund. It will attract necessary investment for climate projects in various sectors ranging from energy and water to agriculture and health in Kyrgyzstan, the EBRD said.

The establishment of the Climate Finance Centre was supported by Climate Investment Fund’s Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience.

The CFC’s objective will be to mobilise and coordinate investments and associated donor funding aimed at the improvement of climate resilience in sectors like water supply and treatment, power supply, health and food security, disaster risk management and many others.

Its activity will be of strategic importance for the Kyrgyz Republic, which is highly vulnerable to climate risks due to the high frequency of climate-related disasters, its dependency on climate-sensitive economic sectors and its ageing infrastructure.

EBRD Vice President Alain Pilloux said: “With the establishment of a well-functioning and effective climate finance coordination mechanism managed by the Climate Finance Centre, we can secure and streamline necessary funding for priority climate investments in the Kyrgyz Republic. The country’s climate impact mitigation strategy will now be supported the largest multilateral financing mechanisms for climate action”.

The EBRD is a major investor in climate finance in many of the 38 emerging economies where it works, a driving force in energy efficiency projects, a pioneer in the development of renewable energy sources and an increasingly important player in adaptation to climate change, having signed almost 180 climate resilience investments since 2011. Under its Green Economy Transition (GET) approach, the EBRD aims to dedicate 40 per cent of its annual investment to green finance by 2020 and is well on the way to achieving this objective.

Since 2011 the EBRD financed 74 climate resilience investments in Central Asia with total amount of EUR 441 million.