Press Release
Published on March 16, 2021

Uruguay selected from more than 100 countries to promote the Green Energy Program


Projects from Fiji, Indonesia, Malawi and Uruguay were selected from 155 proposals from more than 100 countries around the world by the Joint United Nations Fund for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) . Uruguay obtained USD 11 million to implement a program that will support the country's second energy transition, via the decarbonization of different sectors of its economy.

Uruguay, with 98% of the renewable sources matrix, will support the transition of the country's transport and industry sectors towards green energy, with the execution of the winning project “Innovative finance for clean technological solutions in the Uruguayan Energy Sector: Fund of Innovation for Renewable Energy.”

Meanwhile, Fiji will conserve and protect reefs and marine life ecosystems, while empowering local communities that depend on reefs for their survival. Indonesia will create a new generation of financial products to combat climate change by transitioning to low-impact energy and creating small businesses run by women. Malawi will reduce poverty, hunger and inequality by creating jobs and supporting small businesses in the country's severely undercapitalized agricultural sector.

These four programs are expected to leverage some $ 4.7 billion in additional funding.

The program for Uruguay proposes an innovative financial mechanism, called the Innovation Fund for (Renewable Energy REIF), which seeks to support activities and leverage public and private funds of approximately USD 30,000,000. This Fund allows financing a range of new and emerging renewable energy technologies, as well as alliances and activities, within which are topics such as circular economy, electric mobility, sustainable industries, energy transition, sustainable industries.

The proposal approved by the United Nations Joint Fund was coordinated by the United Nations Organization in Uruguay, through its agencies United Nations Organization for Industrial Development (UNIDO), UN Women and the United Nations Program for Development (UNDP). The local counterpart is the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM), the Planning and Budget Office and the National Administration of Power Plants and Transmission (UTE), with the articulation of the Uruguayan Agency for International Cooperation (AUCI).

“Thanks to the support of the Joint Fund for the SDGs, the United Nations team is better equipped to support the alignment of private investments to the SDGs, by establishing a national ecosystem for impact investing. the way we work, "said Mireia Villar Forner, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Uruguay.

“From the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining we are very enthusiastic about the support received by the SDG Fund, which will be a great contribution to the promotion of the second energy transition in Uruguay. It is an innovative instrument that enhances the scope and deepens the impact of the public policies that we are carrying out. We believe that it will be a relevant boost to achieve the sustainable development goals that we have set ourselves, ”said portfolio minister, Omar Paganini.

The Joint Fund for the SDGs is also developing an impact portfolio of 12 additional countries that will receive support to further develop their proposals, including access to global leaders of SDG financing in commercial banks, impact investment firms, institutions of financing for the development and access to adapted coaching programs.

All of these projects have one critical element in common, their ability to leverage the multi-million dollar Joint Fund for the SDGs grants to billions for sustainable development and change the conversation about financing for development and thus advance equitable solutions.

 

The Joint United Nations Fund for the SDGs

The United Nations Joint Fund for the SDGs is an international multi-donor and multi-agency mechanism created in 2014 by the United Nations to support sustainable development activities through multidimensional and integrated joint programs. Its main objective is to unite UN agencies, national governments, academia, civil society and companies to face the challenges of poverty, promote the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieve compliance with the SDGs.