IBRD to provide $220 mn to EESL for green projects

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will provide $220 million in funding for energy-efficiency projects run by state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), the World Bank said on Tuesday.

The move, which is expected to help India’s efforts towards becoming a low-carbon economy, comes against the backdrop of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government working on a multi-pronged strategy for achieving its climate change commitments, with measures ranging from combating air and water pollution to global engagement along with managing energy demand.

Also in a first, the World Bank Group’s arm will provide a $80 million guarantee that will help cover re-payment risks and boost EESL’S efforts to raise funds for its development program.

“The guarantee is expected to leverage some $200 million in additional financing, to help EESL with its growing portfolio and future investment needs,” the World Bank said in a statement.

“The investments under the programme are expected to avoid lifetime greenhouse gas emissions of 170 million tons of CO2, and contribute to avoiding an estimated 10 GW of additional generation capacity. This would be over 50% of the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency target of 19.6 GW indicated in India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCS) under the Paris Accord,” according to the statement.