National meeting on the project “Covenant of Mayors – East” in the Kyrgyz Republic, Bishkek

“Covenant of Mayors” – a call for sustainability.

Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, 20 December 2012 – The European Commission, in cooperation and with the support of the State Agency for Construction and Regional Development of the Kyrgyz Republic, Program INOGATE, the project team and the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) conducted the first national meeting, aimed to provide the European Initiative “Covenant of Mayors – East” in the Kyrgyz Republic.

“Covenant of Mayors” is the mainstream European movement that brings together local, regional and national authorities in achieving voluntary pledges to reduce emissions of CO2 by at least 20% by 2020 through energy efficiency and renewable energy.

This initiative stands close to the prior issues of energy efficiency in the Kyrgyz Republic – namely, in line with national priorities in light of the adoption of the law “On the energy efficiency of buildings” on February 6, 2012.

Details of the meeting:

The meeting was attended by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, the representatives of the State Agency for Construction and Regional Development of the KR – as the National Coordinator of the project in the Kyrgyz Republic, the State Agency for Environmental Protection and Forestry under the Government of the KR, the Mayor of Talas and Osh City Council representatives – signatories of the Initiative in Central Asia, as well as mayors, representatives of municipalities and experts on energy efficiency of Batken, Bishkek, Jalal Abad, Kara-Balta, Kara-Kol and Naryn, international organizations and projects: the European Union Delegation to the Kyrgyz Republic, the Technical secretariat of the European Union INOGATE, the project team of the “Covenant of Mayors – East”, CAREC, UNDP/GEF, UNDP, ESIB INOGATE European Union and ICF International / CAEESP / USAID.

In his opening speech, Mr. Sabirov Shukhrat Mamatalieviech, Deputy Director of the State Agency for Construction and Regional Development of the Kyrgyz Republic, noted the importance of the meeting: “Currently, the issue of energy efficiency is a priority for the development of the domestic economy. Major sector of power supply in the Republic is hydropower, but due to the situation with the climate change and sustainable growth of the population it requires the development and implementation of strategies for the use of renewable energy technologies. ”

Ms. Gulsara Kasymova of the INOGATE Technical Secretariat of the European Union in her speech gave a brief overview of the Programme INOGATE, and highlighted the project «ITS».

Among the special guests were Mr. Svyatoslav Pavlyuk – project key expert in Central Asia (Kiev, Ukraine) and Mr. Yuri Lyagutko – energy manager of the city of Kamenets-Podolsk, Ukraine. Mr. Pavlyuk made introduction to the initiative of the “Covenant of Mayors”: Past, Present and Future” and shared with experience on work in the project “Covenant of Mayors East “- as one of the tools on the path to sustainable energy development at the municipal level in the cities of the CIS.

Mr. Lyagutko spoke with practical advice on implementation of energy management systems in cities and small towns and shared with Ukraine experience in this sphere, which was especially interesting and valuable from a practical point of view for the participants. He also highlighted the signing of the “Covenant of Mayors – East”: “This initiative is, above all, a great opportunity to communicate and learn from the experience of energy efficiency in other cities.”

In the second half of the session, during which representatives of international organizations: the European Union Delegation to the Kyrgyz Republic, UNDP in the Kyrgyz Republic and the EU program INOGATE and ICF International made their presentations, speakers shared their experiences in the implementation of pilot projects in the sphere of energy efficiency in Central Asia in general, and the Kyrgyz Republic, in particular, and also presented a number of possible grants and investment instruments that international organizations provide for the implementation of energy efficient technologies.

Additional Information:

What is the advantage of the initiative, and how it differs from others? “Covenant of Mayors – East” not only shares with rich international and European experience of its over 4400 signatories in contributing to green economic growth and improving quality of life, it also provides the municipalities in new independent states with access to latest energy efficient technologies and best practices. Hence, it facilitates to raise additional funds for project implementation in accordance with national priorities and specificities.

Since its launch in 2008, the Covenant of Mayors is the leading initiative to support and encourage local authorities in the development and implementation of programs for sustainable energy. Thus, the Covenant of Mayors contribute to the development of the green economy and improve the quality of life in cities. How so? By improving access to energy, job creation, improving the economic and social well being and cope with climate change. Newly created Office of the “Covenant of Mayors – East” located in Lviv (Ukraine) and Tbilisi (Georgia) provides administrative, technical and informational support to the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

The Covenant of Mayors is a growing international community of leading local and regional authorities, which benefits from a strong support from political (European Commission, Committee of the Regions, national governments, regional governments, etc.) and financial institutions (European Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, private banks, etc.).

Documents:

• List of Participants
• Programme of the Meeting
• Final Statement

• Photo Gallery

  More information can be found on the official website: http://www.eumayors.eu/ or go to contacts listed below:

  Olar Maxim
  Communications Specialist, CAREC
  Tel.: ext. 185
  Fax:
  Mob.:
  e-mail:

  Project is funded by European Union