Georgia to Focus on Energy Efficiency

Minister of Energy of Georgia, Kakha Kaladze, said that Georgia is ready to work on energy efficiency and renewable energy development, during his speech at the ‘Tbilisi - Energy Efficient City’ conference last week. The conference was held in the Georgian capital in the framework of the European Commission’s large-scale initiative ‘Covenant of Mayors’.

“Our country has been actively working towards energy development, and a significant part of this is energy independence, not only for local development and promotion, but also to seriously upgrade our role in the region,” Kaladze said.

The Georgian government has decided to become a member of the European Energy Community which means that the issues reflected in the European directives will become mandatory for the country, “including energy efficiency,” the Minister noted.

The European Commission's initiative ‘Covenant of Mayors’ brings together local and regional governments which voluntarily commit themselves to increasing energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources on their territories. Parties signatory to the agreement also aim to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to 20 percent by 2020, thus contributing to the development of a green economy and improving living standards.

To date, the project has involved 5,460 municipalities throughout the world, including seven cities of Georgia – Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Rustavi, Gori, Poti, Zugdidi and Batumi.

Eka Karsaulidze