To accelerate setting up of energy management in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Government of Sweden is allocating additional grant funding of 1.2 million KM to the Green Economic Development Project implemented by UNDP.

Marie Bergström, Head of the Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden in BiH, and Sukhrob Khoshmukhamedov, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in BiH, signed today the Financing Agreement in the presence of Mirko Sarovic, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH.

More than 75 percent of public buildings in Bosnia and Herzegovina have inadequate thermal insulation. By improving energy management in public buildings, public expenditures for energy will be reduced and greenhouse gas emissions controlled.

“Different environmental problems are associated with increased energy consumption such as air pollution, water pollution, climate change. I am pleased that we are continuing our support to Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities to set up, monitor and manage energy consumption in the public sector in order to reduce carbon emissions.” underlined Marie Bergstrom Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden.

UNDP’s Green Economic Development (GED) Project, financed by the Government of Sweden, will accelerate the process of setting up the Energy Management System and Energy Efficiency Information System on the state level.

On this occasion Minister Sarovic said “I am thankful to the Government of Sweden and UNDP for continued support and cooperation by fostering our efforts in the area of energy efficiency and environment protection. Our Ministry is committed to fully apply a systematic approach to management of energy consumption and institutionalization of energy management in public sector buildings to meet commitments resulting from the Energy Community Treaty.”

Through the next 18 months, over 80 energy managers and associates from state level public buildings and institutions will be trained, two energy managers and one coordinator will be employed within MOFTER and Service for common affair of the Institutions of BiH for the purpose of establishing energy management system, energy monitoring and IT equipment purchased and installed, and energy efficiency plans prepared for 40 public buildings owned or used by state government institutions;

The UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in BiH, Sukhrob Khoshmukhamedov stated “With the additional funding, Bosnia and Herzegovina will be the first country in the region to implement the overall energy management system for public buildings at the state level. This also includes setting up necessary metering equipment for automatic monitoring of energy and water consumption and reporting.”

Monitoring and reporting on energy and water consumption in the public sector is fundamental to identify areas of improvement, create plans for future investments to lower maintenance costs for public buildings, secure budgetary savings and create green jobs for domestic workforce.

The Green Economic Development Project aims to create favorable conditions for investments in energy efficiency projects, increase the number of green jobs, and contribute to environmental protection and economic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The GED Project is implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH, entities environmental funds, entity ministries of spatial planning, cantonal ministries, municipalities and other partners.