European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) lend 15 million euro to the non-bank financial institution UniCredit Consumer Financing (UCFIN), part of the UniCredit Bank group, for investment financing in green technology, materials and solutions for improving the energy efficiency of homes in Romania.

The loan combines the 4 million euro of preferential financing granted by TaiwanICDF with the 11 million euro facility granted by the EBRD, according to zf.ro.

Potential investments include both energy-efficient heating, water and electricity technologies as well as building components such as walls, windows and roofs.

“Access to green financing in Romania remains limited for the population that aims to improve the energy efficiency of homes. Together with UniCredit Consumer Financing, we are perfectly positioned to raise awareness about green technologies and energy savings for the benefit of the population,” explains Mark Davis, EBRD Regional Director for Romania and Bulgaria.

This is the second loan that UCFIN receives through the EBRD Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) program after using the funding provided by the EBRD and TaiwanICDF in 2017.

GEFF is part of the EBRD’s recently announced ambitious plan to expand its climate and environmental funding as part of its transition to a Green Economy (GET), through which the Bank has announced that it will direct over 50% of annual investment to finance climate change by 2025.

The GEFF program operates through a network of more than 145 local financial institutions in 27 countries, supported by EBRD funding of more than 4.6 billion euro to 190,000 customers from its inception to the present. GEFF projects have led to annual CO2 emission reductions of over 8.6 million tonnes to date.