October 4, 2021, 15:30-17:00 (CET/Skopje time)

The joint project “Green Finance Facility to Improve Air Quality and Combat Climate Change in North Macedonia” – which is currently in final stages of preparation is expected to be in the value of approximately USD 36.3 million and would be implemented by a team of UN agencies – UNDP, IOM and UNECE – in partnership with EBRD. The main government counterpart of the project is the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, with the Ministries of Finance, Environment and Physical Planning and Economy, as key government partners to this project.

This project will develop and operationalize a Green Financing Facility (GFF), a new financial vehicle, that should significantly improve access to affordable green financing for SMEs and target groups of individuals/households for investments in renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) solutions as well as foster innovation in RE and EE sector. The project is expected to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution and strengthen the local ecosystem for RE & EE innovation and green finance.

Part of the project financing is expected from the Joint SDG Fund which is an innovative instrument to incentivize the transformative policy shifts and stimulate the strategic investments required to get the world back on track to meet the SDGs. The UN Secretary-General sees the Joint SDG Fund as a key part of the reform of the UN’s development work by providing the “muscle” for a new generation of Resident Coordinators (RCs) and UN Country Teams (UNCTs) to really accelerate SDG implementation.

Starting from global competition of 155 proposals, the project is currently among the top 12 proposals in the final round, of which around 4 are expected to receive financing from the Joint SDG Fund.