AMMAN — Jordan and the
World Bank (WB) on Monday sealed two new loan agreements to support climate-responsive
investments and help improve the efficiency of Jordan’s electricity sector.
اضافة اعلان
The agreements were signed by
Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Zeina Toukan and the World Bank Country
Director for the Middle East Department, Jean-Christophe Carret, on the
sidelines of the World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, the Jordan News
Agency, Petra, reported.
According to a WB statement on Tuesday, the
international financial institution approved additional financing of $400
million for the Jordan Inclusive, Transparent, and Climate Responsive
Investments Program for Results to intensify efforts to boost
climate-responsive public and private investment, promote jobs and business
opportunities for women, and strengthen government effectiveness through
participatory data and evidence-based policymaking.
“These two new programs will help the government’s efforts… focused on advancing Jordan’s climate agenda, promoting green investment-led growth, and improving the efficiency and reliability of our electricity sector."
It also approved additional financing of
$250 million for the Electricity Sector Efficiency and Supply Reliability
Program for Results, which aims to improve the efficiency of Jordan’s
electricity sector, maintain the country’s significant progress on the
reliability of electricity services, and strengthen sector governance.
Sustainable growth, job creation"We appreciate the continued partnership
and support of the WB for Jordan’s reform and development priorities. These two
new programs will help the government’s efforts to implement the
Economic Modernization Vision Executive Program 2023–2025, which is focused on advancing
Jordan’s climate agenda, promoting green investment-led growth, and improving
the efficiency and reliability of our electricity sector," said Toukan.
For his part, Carret said that Jordan has
shown resilience to major regional and global crises thanks to adaptive policies.
The two programs, he said, will support the
Government of Jordan’s economic reform agenda and help the Kingdom continue its home-grown structural reforms
to achieve inclusive, sustainable, and investment-led growth and job creation,
particularly for youth and women.
Climate commitmentsSince 2021, Jordan has worked to strengthen
its climate agenda by scaling up its commitments to the
Nationally Determined Contribution through significantly increasing emission reduction targets and prioritizing
green public and private investments.
The additional financing aims to further
strengthen the quality of public investment and prioritize climate-responsive
public investment, including through public-private partnerships. It will
enable a stronger set of interventions to scale up financing including
supporting steps toward the possible issuance of a sovereign green bond in the
future and the implementation of a National Green Taxonomy. Program activities
will
support reforms and investments that create job opportunities.
The program also aims to support government
accountability and information sharing by incentivizing government
responsiveness to citizen feedback through e-participation and supporting the
production and analysis of critical statistical information to inform
policymaking, including on gender. In accordance with the recommendations of
the
Jordan Country Climate and Development Report, the Program for Results will
also support Jordan’s goals to achieve a low-carbon trajectory with the current
NDC target of 31 percent of renewable energy in the electricity supply mix.
Electricity enhancementJordan has made significant progress in
improving the reliability of its electricity supply, increasing the share of
renewable energy in the electricity supply mix from 6 percent in 2017 to 26
percent in 2021, and introducing private investments in the sector through
public-private partnerships.
The additional financing aims to further strengthen the quality of public investment and prioritize climate-responsive public investment, including through public-private partnerships.
Despite these achievements, the electricity
sector faces several challenges that impede efficient growth in the long term.
These include the
National Electric Power Company’s (NEPCO) difficult financial
situation, the increase in electricity purchase costs, and the increase in debt
service costs.
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