By Anton Usov

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is improving access to green finance and stimulating green innovation in Uzbekistan by providing new funds to a major private domestic lender, Hamkorbank.

The EBRD’s loan of up to US$10 million under its Uzbekistan Green Economy Financing Facility II (GEFF II Uzbekistan) will allow Hamkorbank to expand its energy efficiency lending to companies and households across the country, who will, in turn, use the funds to modernise production, increase their energy efficiency and improve their climate resilience.

The GEFF Uzbekistan II is supported by technical cooperation funding provided by the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), with contributions from Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom; and by the Action for Equality and Gender Multi-donor Cooperation Fund (A4EG), with contributions from Japan, Lithuania and Taipei China, to promote inclusive green lending.

The GEFF Uzbekistan II is part of the EBRD’s Green Economy Transition (GET) approach, through which the Bank aims to become a majority green bank by 2025. Through the GET approach, the EBRD will increase green financing to more than 50 per cent of its annual business volume by 2025. Since 2006 the EBRD has signed €49 billion(US$52.9billion) in green investments and financed more than 2,600 green projects, which are expected to reduce 124 million tonnes of carbon emissions yearly.

To date, the EBRD has invested around €4.4 billion in 146 projects across Uzbekistan.