Green Cities Funding Doubled: Tbilisi and Batumi Among Participants

Cooperation between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to improve urban environments and address climate challenges is expanding.

According to official EBRD information, the GCF has approved a second, additional financing tranche of 87 million euros under the Green Cities Facility. As a result, the concessional financing provided by the GCF for the programme has risen to 174 million euros.

The allocated financial resources are aimed at supporting urban climate projects in the programme's participating countries. These include infrastructure investments, policy development, institutional capacity building, and increasing access to green finance.

What Areas Will the Programme Fund?

EBRD Green Cities unites more than 60 participating cities. The programme's priorities are investment areas that have a significant impact on the environmental performance and climate resilience of cities.

In particular, potential areas of support include:

• development of urban transport and public transit systems;

• energy-efficient municipal and district energy systems;

• municipal solid waste management and recycling;

• use of renewable energy;

• water supply and wastewater infrastructure;

• building energy efficiency;

• electricity distribution grids and street lighting;

• climate-resilient infrastructure and nature-based solutions.

Programme funding is available in 15 countries, including Georgia, Armenia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Serbia, and Uzbekistan.

Recipients of financial support can include cities, municipal service providers, and private sector entities.

According to the EBRD, concessional financing is particularly vital for projects whose implementation under commercial lending conditions would be difficult or economically less viable.

What Opportunities Does This Open for Georgia?

The high significance of the new financial resource for Georgia is driven by the fact that Tbilisi and Batumi remain participating cities in the EBRD Green Cities programme.

Tbilisi joined the programme in November 2016, and Batumi in July 2018. A Green City Action Plan (GCAP) has been developed for both cities to identify environmental challenges and determine priority measures to address them.

Tbilisi's Green City Action Plan was approved in 2017. It places special emphasis on public transport, reducing air pollution, building energy efficiency, municipal waste management, and the expansion of green spaces.

Batumi's action plan covers areas for improving the city's environmental conditions, including transport, energy, waste management, water resources management, and urban development issues.

Completed Projects and the Significance of New Funding

Cooperation under EBRD Green Cities in Georgia is not limited to strategic planning alone. There are also specific investment projects demonstrating the types of infrastructure development these financing mechanisms can support.

An example for Tbilisi is the waste recycling facility project. According to official EBRD documentation, the total project cost is 26 million euros. Of this, 22 million euros is a sovereign loan from the EBRD, while an additional 4 million euros in concessional financing was provided by the Green Climate Fund.

The project is aimed at establishing the capital's first waste processing plant, extracting recyclable materials, and reducing the volume of waste disposed of at the sanitary landfill.

An example for Batumi and Adjara is Adjara Solid Waste Management Phase II. According to the EBRD, it is the first follow-on investment project under Batumi's Green City Action Plan within the Green Cities Framework 2. Its total cost is 25 million euros, of which EBRD financing accounts for 19 million euros.

The project is aimed at developing waste management infrastructure, expanding recyclable material recovery, launching a modern waste disposal system, and mitigating negative environmental impacts.

It should be emphasized that these projects relate to previous investment decisions rather than the allocation of funds from the newly approved tranche of 87 million euros.

What Does Doubled Funding Mean for Tbilisi and Batumi?

It is important to note that the additional 87 million euros are not allocated solely to Georgia. This amount is intended to support participating cities in the EBRD Green Cities programme and relevant entities across 15 countries.

The official EBRD release does not specify how much funding Georgia or specifically Tbilisi and Batumi might receive. However, the new tranche expands the programme's financial capacity and sets the stage for broader support of new projects across member cities. Tangible outcomes will depend on the investment projects submitted by cities, their priority level, and compliance with financing terms.

In this context, the opportunity is particularly meaningful for Georgia in upgrading urban transit, waste management, water supply and wastewater systems, energy efficiency, and climate risk mitigation.

Accordingly, the primary task for Tbilisi and Batumi now is to transform existing Green City Action Plans into concrete, economically and technically feasible investment projects.

Thus, expanded cooperation between the EBRD and the GCF introduces additional financial opportunities for Georgian cities. However, turning these opportunities into tangible investment results will depend on the preparation and implementation of specific projects.