Armenia`s cooperation with the Green Climate Fund will receive new  impetus

ArmInfo. Armenia's cooperation with the Green Climate Fund will receive new impetus. The RA National Assembly at the meeting on January 20 approved the main  directions of cooperation between the republic and the foundation.

As Deputy Minister of the Nature Protection of the Republic of  Armenia Tigran Simonyan noted in his speech, the Green Climate Fund  was created to promote the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change,  with the participation of 194 countries. The main goal of the Fund is  to help developing countries in the fight against climate change. In  Armenia, the Fund implements various programs with the participation  of UN structures, the European Bank for Reconstruction and  Development and other financial organizations.

Currently, 2 grant programs with a total budget of $ 30 million are  under implementation, $ 20 million of which are aimed at developing  technical solutions to improve the energy efficiency of buildings.  Four more grant programs totaling $ 4.2 million are under  development. All ongoing projects are financed by 15%, which is due  to the lack of an appropriate agreement with the Fund. Ratification  of the document will make it possible to fully deploy the bulk of the  work.

The Deputy Minister also stressed that Armenia also attracts credit  resources, which are mainly directed to co-financing programs. Thus,  today a "green economy" project worth $ 74.4 million is being  implemented, of which $ 20 million in the form of a grant, and $ 54.3  million - a loan from the US government.

To recall, on August 19 last year, the Green Climate Fund (GCF)  satisfied the application submitted by Armenia in 2019 for a grant of  $ 10 million. The funds will be used to help restore forests,  strengthen resilience, create modern nurseries for seedlings, as well  as the implementation of programs to promote the development of  alternative energy in rural communities. The total budget for the  program is $ 18.7 million.  The project includes a range of  activities, from the supply of energy efficient wood burning stoves,  which are expected to reduce wood consumption by 30% and reduce  energy poverty in forested areas, to an extensive tree planting  program to expand the country's forest cover, which will allow  increase the amount of carbon absorbed by forests by at least 7%. In  addition, the project will create new jobs for rural residents, as  well as reduce indoor air pollution, which will positively affect the  resilience of rural households to external shocks. The Austrian  Development Agency, the Government of the Autonomous Province of  Bolzano (Italy), the Government of Armenia and the Representative  Office of the World Wildlife Fund in Armenia also participate in  financing this project.