14.12.2016 | News
A new agreement on NEFCO’s mandate was signed in Helsinki today by representatives from all five Nordic countries. The signing event was hosted by Kimmo Tiilikainen, Finnish Minister of Agriculture and the Environment.
The new agreement and the related strategy outline that NEFCO will focus on promoting green growth and preventing climate change by supporting Nordic investments in environmentally sustainable solutions both in the private and the public sector. NEFCO will continue to finance environmental actions mainly in Eastern Europe, targeting the reduction of pollutants affecting the Baltic Sea as well as the Arctic and Barents regions. However, the new strategy will enable the Corporation to explore new ground also outside Eastern Europe by providing loan capital and equity globally for relevant green growth investments of interest to the owner countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
“Over the years, NEFCO has demonstrated that the Nordic countries have benefited from owning a joint international financial institution that has contributed to greening the world and reducing environmentally harmful emissions in our neighbouring region. Today, we are turning a new page in Nordic environmental co-operation by signing this agreement, which will also strengthen our capacity to operate globally,” said Kimmo Tiilikainen, Finnish Minister of Agriculture and the Environment.
“We are very pleased about today’s landmark agreement since it will enable us to rely on our key strengths related to green growth and Nordic innovations in the environmental sector. Moreover, the strategy conforms well to the Nordic priorities in international environmental co-operation,” said NEFCO’s Managing Director Magnus Rystedt.
NEFCO has financed projects in over 60 countries since its inception in 1990. The geographic focus for the Corporation remains in Eastern Europe, with most of the business operations taking place in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia. The Nordic Project Fund, Nopef, which was merged with NEFCO in 2014, finances projects globally outside the EU and EFTA.
NEFCO administers funds to a total value of EUR 460 million. In 2015, 165 new projects were approved to a total value of EUR 107.8 million. The same year, NEFCO contributed to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 4.3 million tonnes and managed to reduce the energy consumption by 13,900 gigawatt-hours during the period under review.