The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has delivered a new batch of communal vehicles for the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
Tbilisi municipality received a variety of vehicles, including street sweepers, rubbish trucks, and aerial works platforms.
“We’re pleased to play a part in upgrading municipal services in the city, while supporting environmental improvements,” the EBRD said in a Facebook post. “The new vehicles will significantly cut emissions, air pollution, and reduce the city’s road safety risks.”
The machinery was provided under the EBRD’s Green Cities program, which helps cities to apply a broad approach to identifying and prioritizing environmental challenges, and connecting them with infrastructure investments and policy measures. Tbilisi was among the very first cities to join the EBRD’s Green Cities family.
THE EBRD’S GREEN CITIES INITIATIVE
Cities in EBRD regions face a variety of challenges, among them inadequate infrastructure investment, shifting demographics, poor air quality, and a legacy of high energy consumption and carbon intensity. Many of these cities are particularly susceptible to climate change impacts, experiencing heightened heat stress and extreme weather events. Furthermore, solid waste management remains a critical issue, with recycling rates well below EU standards.
To address these issues, the EBRD launched the EBRD Green Cities initiative, aimed at fostering a more sustainable future for urban areas and their inhabitants. This program focuses on three main pillars:
1. Green City Action Plans (GCAPs): These plans assess environmental challenges, prioritize them, and outline strategies for addressing them through policy reforms and sustainable infrastructure investments.
2. Sustainable Infrastructure Investment: The initiative supports and encourages green investments, both public and private, in critical areas such as water and wastewater management, urban transport, district energy systems, energy-efficient buildings, solid waste management, and other measures to enhance cities’ resilience to climate-related shocks.
3. Capacity-Building: EBRD provides technical assistance to city administrators and local stakeholders, ensuring that the infrastructure projects and policy measures outlined in GCAPs are effectively developed, implemented, and monitored.
The overarching goals of EBRD Green Cities are to preserve environmental assets such as air quality, water resources, land, and biodiversity, ensuring their sustainable use; mitigate and adapt to the risks posed by climate change, enhancing cities’ resilience, and; ensure that environmental policies and developments contribute to the social and economic well-being of city residents.
Through these initiatives, EBRD aims to promote sustainable urban development across its regions, fostering cities that are healthier, more resilient, and more livable for their populations.
By Team GT
