Belarus draws up national action plan on energy efficiency until 2030

Minsk, September 3 – Neftegaz.RU. Belarus has drawn up the national action plan on energy efficiency through 2030, BelTA learned from the press service of the State Committee for Standardization of Belarus, Belta reported.

The company ENVIROS s.r.o. under an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with the support of the Energy Efficiency Department of the State Committee for Standardization and with the funding from the Ministry of Finance of Slovakia developed a national action plan on energy efficiency.

“This is a strategic policy document that defines targets and indicators in energy saving through 2030. It also offers specific technical and organizational measures to achieve these goals. The plan complies with the recommended standard template of the European Union with some adjustments that take into account the Belarusian practice,” the press service noted.

The achievement of the proposed goals and implementation of the developed measures are not mandatory for Belarus. The document will enable the country to determine the necessary areas and activities to continue reducing the energy intensity of the GDP by cutting the consumption of fuel and energy resources while developing state, sectoral and regional energy efficiency programs through 2030.

The plan provides for the implementation of ‘horizontal' (intersectoral, complex) measures that can be applied in all sectors of the economy, as well as for the improvement of the existing activities to raise energy efficiency in government agencies, industry, transport, district heating, production, transmission, distribution, and sale of heat and electricity, and energy demand management.

The document lays down the amount of savings in fuel and energy resources in the areas and provides a forecast for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide as a result of the implementation of the proposed measures. The action plan also contains proposals to increase the use of renewable energy sources, although this step is not mandatory under the standard EU template.

The main activities for 2021-2030 include eliminating of cross-subsidies in the household sector, providing the population with electricity and gas metering devices, upgrading street lighting, using solid municipal waste to produce energy, and other measures.

“Plans are in place to use these activities in drafting strategic policy documents on energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources for 2021-2030, outlining the country's contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and defining other relevant programs and targets,” the press service noted,