The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Deputy Resident Representative Sukhrob Khoshmukhamedov and Minister of Spatial Planning, Construction and Environmental Protection of the Sarajevo Canton Damir Filipović signed an Amendment to the Finacial Agreement, within the Green Economic Development (GED) project, for the purpose of the development of “Study on energy efficiency in buildings used by people in social need in the Sarajevo Canton”. 

The Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and Environmental Protection of the Sarajevo Canton and the Government of Sweden will finance the development of Study with BAM 210,000, as part of the GED project implemented by UNDP.

This Study is a prerequisite for the implementation of the energy retrofit project on the mentioned buildings. The Study will include data on the current state of households in terms of construction characteristics, heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting systems, energy consumption for heating and lighting, possible measures to improve energy efficiency and energy savings, and financial costs related to energy products used for heating and lighting. It will also include data on economic indicators for proposed energy efficiency measures for each analyzed household, CO2 emissions, solid particles, SO2, etc.

“This is a project with the ultimate goal of energy rehabilitation of buildings used by the mentioned category of our fellow citizens, who at the same time exercise the right to receive subsidies for heating costs from the Sarajevo Canton. The intent is to reduce heating consumption through the energy rehabilitation of buildings, ensure the use of clean energy products, and reinvest the saved funds in the budget for other purposes. The Ministry of Labor, Social Policy, Displaced Persons and Refugees, which has prepared data related to households receiving financial support for heating in the Sarajevo Canton—1,331 households—directly participates in the implementation of the project”, stated Minister Filipović.

“So far, through the GED project funded by the Government of Sweden, we have worked to increase the energy efficiency of public buildings, and now we are starting new activities. Based on the results of this Study, the next steps will be identified to improve comfort and provide healthier living conditions in these households”, stated Khoshmukhamedov, the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative. The implementation of energy efficiency measures helps reduce CO₂ emissions and also offers the opportunity to act in a business sense in the context of reinvesting the realized financial savings.

Minister of Labor, Social Policy, Displaced Persons and Refugees of the Sarajevo Canton Malik Garibija also attended the signing ceremony.

The GED project aims to facilitate favourable conditions for investments in energy efficiency projects, increase the number of green jobs, as well as to contribute to environmental protection and economic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The GED project is implemented by the UNDP, with the financial support of the Government of Sweden, and in partnership with the BiH Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, the two Entity Environmental Protection Funds, the Entity Ministries of Spatial Planning, cantonal ministries, municipalities and other partners.