EU4Climate regional project was launched on 23 April 2019 in Moldova. The initiative will support six Eastern Partnership countries in mitigation and adaptation to climate change and in development towards a low-emissions and climate-resilient economy, in line with the Paris Agreement. The EU4Climate project is funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme.

EU4Climate, with duration of four years, 2019-2022, will support the Republic of Moldova to take concrete actions against climate change through the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement and to improve climate policies and legislation. Its ambition is to limit climate change’s negative impacts on citizens’ lives and make the society overall more resilient to it.

The national launch offered an opportunity for government officials and the representatives of various stakeholder groups to discuss priorities and next steps for EU4Climate implementation in Moldova.

“Our country has recognized the importance of the complex issue of climate change in a global context and has made commitments as a developing country. By its First Determined National Contribution in 2015, the Republic of Moldova has committed itself to reaching by 2030 the unconditional greenhouses gases emission reduction target of at least 64% compared to the 1990 level. The respective reduction commitment could eventually increase up to 78%, in the case of the provision of low-cost financial resources, technology transfer and technical cooperation with developed industrialized countries, corresponding to the challenges of global climate change,” said Valentina Tapis, State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment.

“European Union is a front-runner in promoting environmental sustainability and addressing climate change. The European Commission has recently published its vision, which proposes for Europe to become the world's first major economy to go climate neutral by 2050. Also the Eastern Partnership plays an important role in our shared efforts to have a greener and long lasting sustainable development. Over the last decade, the European Union allocated around 580 million euros for actions related to environment, climate, energy efficiency and renewable energy in the Eastern partner countries. I am proud to announce that the EU is investing another 8.8 million euros in EU4Climate, this will allow the Republic of Moldova to join our efforts for creating a better future and cleaner environment for our children and future generations,” highlighted Peter Michalko, Ambassador of the European Union in the Republic of Moldova.

“UNDP is a strong advocate for the environment and climate change given its impact on people’s livelihood, nations development and our planet’s sustainability. With decades of experience at the global, regional and national levels UNDP supports countries to implement ambitious climate change measures and work towards a future which is resilient, inclusive and sustainable for all, in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and Paris Agreement. Since 2008 and in the region of Europe and the CIS, UNDP has invested around $278 million in climate change,” noted Dima Al-Khatib, UNDP Resident Representative in the Republic of Moldova. “The launching of the EU4Climate project creates a new momentum and presents new opportunities for climate action in the region. It is an important and highly valued project for Eastern Partnership countries, including the Republic of Moldova,” said Dima Al-Khatib.  

The EU4Climate project will contribute to the alignment of Moldovan legislation with the EU climate standards, including the Energy Treaty, mainstreaming climate in sectoral policies and the implementation of Moldova's legal and policy climate frameworks adopted in last five years. EU4Climate will contribute to the implementation of a robust framework to report progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as climate change can cause serious damage to the economy, business and agriculture, thus should be addressed.

The initiative will also support the country to increase its capacities to mobilize funds for climate sector from development partners, global environment and climate change funds and others. The project will pilot climate budget tagging in selected public institutions, which means that all expenses shall be monitored to observe to what extent they contribute to tackling climate change.

The EU4Climate project (with a total budget of 8.8 million EUR) benefits Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.  

EU4Climate builds on important achievements of past cooperation programmes, such as EU ClimaEast Programme, which supported Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Neighborhood East and on-going projects, partnerships and initiatives, as well as on EU and UNDP’s expertise at both the regional and country levels in climate policy development and governance.

The Republic of Moldova signed the Paris Agreement in 2016 and ratified it in 2017. Moldova has committed to reduce by 2030 its gas emissions with at least 64%, as compared to the 1990. To achieve that, Moldova has to mobilize more than 8.6 billion USD by 2030. In Moldova, energy, transport, buildings, industrial, waste and agricultural are the sectors that generate most emissions.