The Minister of Energy, Victor Parlicov, participated today in the panel dedicated to the Climate Crisis and the Need for Ecological Transition within the Moldova Security Forum, which is taking place today in Chisinau. The Minister of Energy spoke about the vulnerabilities of the Republic of Moldova in the energy field, but also how they could be used as development opportunities.

 

Moldova is one of the most vulnerable countries on the continent to climate change, it is the least forested, over 70% of all energy is imported, while it is among the poorest countries on the continent and is close to war, Victor Parlicov listed. According to him, energy intensity is almost four times higher than the average in the EU, that is, to produce one euro of Gross Domestic Product, four times more energy is consumed.

 

At the same time, in Moldova, twice as much energy is spent on maintaining one square meter of living space than the average in the European Union, and half of the energy is consumed by buildings.

 

“If we were to bring our buildings to the average level of energy efficiency in the European Union, we would save an amount of energy equal to the entire volume of natural gas imported in a year,” said Victor Parlicov.

 

He recalled the programs launched by the Ministry of Energy that aim to increase the energy efficiency of buildings in both the public and residential sectors.

 

Thus, Moldova has assumed the goal of annually making 0.8% of the building surface in the country energy efficient. In this regard, the Moldovan Residential Energy Efficiency Fund (FEERM) was launched, which provides grants for improving energy efficiency in apartment blocks and individual houses, with over half a million square meters of housing space to be rehabilitated in the next three years.

 

At the same time, two major programs are underway to change the heating distribution systems inside apartment buildings in Chisinau and Balti and to install Individual Thermal Points, which will increase thermal comfort in apartments, while saving up to 50% of the cost of bills.

 

Several modernization programs are also underway in the public sector, including the "Moldova Energy Efficiency Project" (MEEP), which focuses on energy modernization and optimization of energy consumption in 10 medical institutions of national importance, the "Sustainable Transition to Energy Efficiency in Moldova" (STEEM) project, which involves the energy renovation of 46 schools across the country, and the Initiative for the Development of Sustainable Public Infrastructure through Energy Efficiency Renovations (INSPIREE), which involves the renovation of 25 public buildings in the country to improve energy efficiency.