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Sustainable Transport Policy for Armenia: A Roadmap Policy recommendations and milestones
As Armenia shifts toward a sustainable transport sector, a clear roadmap with structured policy recommendations and milestones is essential. To be sure, the transition faces challenges ranging from geopolitical risks to resource limitations. However, it also offers significant opportunities to lower CO2 emissions, improve transport accessibility for people and businesses, enhance regional and international connectivity and wean Armenia from its dependence on imported fossil fuels.In the summary below, the recommendations offered in this roadmap have been grouped into three categories to help the government prioritise its actions effectively and ensure a systematic transition toward low-carbon mobility. Each category…
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Ramping up Heat Pumps in Moldova: A Roadmap Regulating the sector
…to which Moldova prioritises heat pumps in building retrofits. Appliance standards and restrictions Standards for space heating appliances define the types of equipment that can be sold, setting minimum performance and environmental criteria. These standards have been in place in many European countries since the 1990s. By limiting inefficient systems, they play a crucial role in advancing Europe’s energy transition.Several countries have gone further by introducing stringent requirements for heating systems. Since 2022, new buildings in France can no longer be fitted with oil or gas heating systems, while Germany mandates that at least 65% of energy used...
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Financing Clean Energy in Africa Mobilising capital for a sustainable future
…although investor expectations of project size and risk–return profile may mean they require blending with concessional sources in riskier areas. Investors can provide debt via the sustainable bond market and refinancing tools can be used to replace public or DFI capital in brownfield assets with private sources. Private equity and venture capital also play a key role in funding start-ups to support the development of local industry, including in relation to off-grid electricity and clean cooking solutions.Although a small player now, over the long term domestic markets are fundamental to energy sector development. Under the SAS…
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China’s Official Energy Finance in Emerging and Developing Economies Case 7. Palembang waste-to-energy plant
Project overview and impact Indonesia faces a dual challenge of rapidly growing waste volumes and persistent electricity supply constraints. The country generates around 65 million tonnes of waste annually, yet only about 20% is formally treated, and most cities rely heavily on landfills. In 2017, the government designated 12 priority cities for accelerated waste-to-energy (WTE) development, including Palembang, and introduced preferential feed-in tariffs and guaranteed waste-tipping fees to attract private investment. Despite this, only two WTE plants, Surabaya’s Benowo PLTSa and Surakarta’s Putri Cempo PLTSa, both on Java island, were operational before 2024, highlighting…
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Financing Electricity Access in Africa Pathway to universal access
…and mini-grid regulations are often unclear on areas such as tariff design. Improving project bankability, including by raising demand for electricity, and tapping into domestic capital markets, can unlock further private capital.Concessional finance is essential for derisking private investment and directing capital to underserved markets. Universal access by 2035 will require USD 6.2 billion per year, a significant jump from an average of USD 1 billion per year in 2019-2023. The World Bank and African Development Bank’s Mission 300 – with the target of electrifying 300 million people by 2030 – can help drive up concessional funding levels…
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Financing Electricity Access in Africa State of play
…this financing is channelled through government agencies and state-owned utilities. However, utilities across the region face financial pressures due to high operational costs, low tariffs and collection rates, hindering their ability to deliver last-mile programmes and often requiring government budgetary support.Current financing trends reveal a major gap in the availability of equity. Equity investment averaged USD 450 million per year during 2019-2023, and while there has been a gradual annual increase since 2020, it has been concentrated in mature companies and markets, preventing early-stage companies from being able to scale up or fund growth into new projects.
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Energy Efficiency Policy Toolkit Buildings
Introduction Buildings account for about 30% of final energy consumption globally and more than half of electricity consumption. Doubling the global annual energy intensity improvement by 2030 would require buildings to become more efficient rapidly. An integrated policy approach combining regulation, information and incentives is the most effective way to achieve this goal. Regulatory standards such as building energy codes are among the most effective policies to not only boost energy performance and reduce emissions, but also to improve occupants' health, comfort and productivity – while enhancing climate resilience and mitigating energy price fluctuations. Buildings built after a code is introduced can…
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Financing Electricity Access in Africa Executive summary
…significant barriers. Finance for electricity access is scarce and relies too much on public sources According to IEA tracking, less than USD 2.5 billion was committed for new electricity access connections in sub-Saharan Africa in 2023. This includes international public and private spending on a range of solutions, such as market support and ecosystem building. Following a pandemic-related dip in 2020, financial commitments rebounded in 2021, then grew steadily by 5% annually. Total commitments are now around one-quarter higher than they were in 2019. Roughly half of financing is for access via the grid, although decentralised…
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Universal Access to Clean Cooking in Africa Implications and policy considerations
…and medium-sized enterprises that play an important role expanding clean cooking where commercial players will not. At current prices, the cost of gaining clean cooking access would exceed 10% of household monthly income for nearly 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. Affordability varies significantly by fuel type, but financial incentives and business models that allow consumers to make purchases in small increments play an important role across all market segments. Some measures include value added tax (VAT) and import tariff exemptions for clean cooking stoves, fuels and equipment, pricing regulations, targeted affordability support for the lowest-income households…
