Two lines of funding come into the building

Du are new to financing energy efficiency projects in buildings. Two credit lines for the Building Energy Efficiency Programs, PEEB Med and PEEB Cool, announced with great fanfare during COP 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt last November, have finally come into service. At least, to begin with, it is primarily PEEB Med accessible.

According to Guillaume Monceaux, AFD’s Energy Project Team Leader, who made the announcement during the second edition of MeetMed held in Marrakech from May 9 to 11, “For PEEB Med, we have already launched a first operation in Palestine, which consists of the energetic restoration of the Morgos Nasser Palace in Bethlehem. Other projects include Morocco. “Eligible countries can already bid. As for PEEB Cool, we have to wait a little longer. We are currently setting up the Project Management Unit (PMU) and the project will not be launched until next September.”

Both plans are for new and renewal

Both of these programs support both new construction and renovations. As for PEEB Med, it is a Franco-German initiative implemented by AFD, GIZ and ADEME for five years under the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC). . Its practice actually started in January 2023, with a total budget of 460 million euros. It targets only the public sector of seven partner countries (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Territories and Tunisia). Its main objective is to improve the energy and environmental performance of public buildings by supporting the preparation and financing of projects with building components.

This support aims to significantly reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; adapting to climate change, particularly by improving thermal comfort; and improving the transformational capacity of the building and construction sector. The scheme is accessible to all construction or renovation projects in sectors such as housing, healthcare, education, administrative and commercial buildings. It finances a wide range of sustainable services, within a short process: energy audits, carbon footprint, project management assistance, studies (environmental, social, gender), climate risk analysis, pension plans asbestos, energy efficiency training, sectoral directives, etc.

The program supports payments during the identification, design, construction and operation of major public and private renovation and construction projects in the region. In addition, PEEB Med provides investment grants to cover the additional cost of energy efficiency measures. The aim is to reduce the financial barrier and reduce the risk of investing in energy efficient buildings. In addition to funding, AFD provides support to contracting authorities with projects that have strong transformative potential, through their exemplary nature, their scale and replicability. GIZ and ADEME develop capacity building activities for the benefit of building and construction stakeholders.

PEEB Med welcomed the example of the Moroccan state

Ultimately, PEEB Med will directly benefit 14 million people and help avoid 1 million tons of CO2 emissions equivalent to 5 years. According to the Director General of AMEE, Saïd Mouline, “This project is welcome because it will help to raise the model program of the state, especially the administrations without administrations that want to green their buildings” (see opposite interview) . As for PEEB Cool, it will be available from this coming September. It is a program open to public and private sector. It will help 11 partner countries in warm climates in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America (Albania, Argentina, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Sri Lanka and Tunisia) improve building energy efficiency. Resilience to shocks such as extreme weather events, economic crises and energy shortages.

Industry can use PEEB Cool to decarbonize its buildings

PEEB Cool will support the development of large-scale green building projects by providing expert support at all stages of the project and financing cycle. Support countries in developing strategies and regulations for resilient and efficient buildings through policy advice, capacity building and international outreach. The program will use a unique combination of finance and policy to scale up ambitious energy efficiency and resilience programs and achieve sustainable building sector transformation in target countries. It will have investment facility Implemented by the AFD Group, it provides financial and technical assistance to promoters of public and private projects that integrate a bioclimatic design and ambitious energy efficiency objectives. Technical assistance funded by grants may be provided at various stages of the project, including feasibility stages (reviewing plans and making recommendations on building design). Construction (supervising construction); as well as operation and maintenance to build the capacity of project owners and ensure proper management of buildings.

Concessional loans remove the financial barrier associated with high investment costs and associated debt services driven by energy efficiency measures. The lower cost of the Green Climate Fund’s concessional loans will allow financing equivalent to subsidizing these additional costs. PEEB Cool, an enabling facility operated by GIZ, will foster an enabling environment for low-emission and climate-resilient buildings. Investment frameworks can encourage activity in specific sectors such as healthcare or residential buildings. It supports the transformation of the building industry into green buildings through a sectoral framework, policies and practices, and networks and knowledge. The Green Climate Fund has provided approximately €220 million in the form of concessional loans and technical assistance grants to scale up PEEB Cool’s financing, policy support and capacity building activities.

AFD is co-financing €5 million in the form of project aid grants, and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) will provide €2.5 million in political support and international grants. The concessional loans will be raised in AFD loans of €1,111 million. A co-financing combination of investment loans from the Green Climate Fund and AFD will help project promoters in beneficiary countries remove the barrier to financing sustainable and flexible buildings as part of their construction or renovation projects.

It should be noted that technical assistance grants will be split between operational technical assistance for projects (26.8 million euros, investment facility) and institutional technical assistance (21.5 million euros, implementation of the facility). In summary, PEEB Cool should provide 1.13 million people with better thermal comfort in buildings over five years, avoid 1,562,759 tCO2eq emissions, save 233,267 MWh and create 27,000 jobs. However, “the private sector in general and industry in particular should seize the opportunity that PEEB Cool offers to decarbonise their buildings”.