WELCOME to the second number of ECOFUNDING Newsletter!

Transcription

1 no.2 EDITION 18 December 2013 WELCOME to the second number of ECOFUNDING Newsletter ECOFUNDING team is worming up the engine and the project life is growing into its "teen" after a promising childhood, nourished during its first months of activities. Every two months, a new number of this European Edition will be published on our web site MED-ECOFUNDING.EU, with a PDF download. Local Edition of the Newsletter can be edited by each partner, in different languages. Have a look at all partnership websites, in the list you'll find in the last page of this Newsletter decembrepage 1

2 no.2 EDITION 18 December 2013 ECOFUNDING Is a project designed to create new investment spaces that favor green Mediterranean SMEs. The main objective of the project is to create a comprehensive platform of financial resources that link investors and entrepreneurs and include all financial engineering mechanisms the EU is betting on, at the same time, that it provides with innovative solutions to financing concerning venture capital, private investment and the creation of public-private cooperation structures. The main objective of ECOFUNDING is to reinforce the competitiveness of the companies from the MED space in the fields of the energy efficiency and sustainability, all through the equation: decembrepage 2

3 no.2 EDITION 18 December 2013 access to finance + energy internationalization = sustainable development and wealth creation. The project counts on business organizations (companies), financial agents (participate as associates) and energy qualification agencies. ECOFUNDING wants to get over the European crisis thanks to green energy and new creative ideas in the field of the ecobusiness. Ecofunding aims to get More Efficiency and Less Energy consumption in order to reduce companies costs and to underline new creative solution for European production. The project is implemented by a strong, effective and specialized partnership - 11 partners representing 7 countries of the MED area - coordinated by the Council of Chamber of Commerce of the Valencia Region. NEWS FROM THE PARTNERSHIP Technical meeting in Valencia for the design of the ECOFUNDING Platform Last September 18th 2013, the Council of Chambers of Commerce of the Valencia Region hosted in Valencia a technical meeting with the University of Algarve and the IVACE in order to analyze the Reports on the State of the Art provided by all partners where they collect data at regional level on the main existing financial instruments, services and operators for the promotion of the energy and eco-innovation development. Based on this work, Algarve will draft a Global Report on Innovative Funding Instruments and will develop a Green Funding Database and a Green Funding Catalogue for SMEs that will complement the future ECOFUNDING Platform on innovative services for green financing. decembrepage 3

4 no.2 EDITION 18 December 2013 Here the plan of the new platform. Our partner from Greece, Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is quite active in communication: events have been organized, with institutions and entrepreneurs. Here some photos and the press realease from our partner. decembrepage 4

5 no.2 EDITION 18 December 2013 Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry implements a new european project with the acronym «ECOFUNDING» under MED program which aims to develop and implement new innovative financial tools designed to enhance green business. The project is implemented in cooperation with institutions from Greece, Spain, Italy, France, Slovenia, Croatia and Portugal Using the term «green businesses», we characterize SMEs that either provide green services such as Renewable Energy, Energy saving, decembrepage 5

6 no.2 EDITION 18 December 2013 Recycling products and Rational Water and Waste Management, Eco- Innovation and Green Chemistry, Green Transport, Organic Farming and Ecotourism units etc, or, they are characterized by green business concept regardless of products or services offered and related manufacturing processes. Based on the above, therefore, the CCCI urges public or private organizations that provide relevant financial services and investment tools specialized in green business, and green businesses to participate in the event for the presentation of the project, the goals and aspirations. Will analyze the implementation steps and creating online platform for use by stakeholders. For any further info or inquiry you may contact Mr. Evnagelos Douloufakis, project manager of «ECOFUNDING». decembrepage 6

7 no.2 EDITION 18 December 2013 FROM OUR CROATIAN PARTNER: ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT IN CROATIA Sustainable Energy Finance and Investment Summit - CROENERGY2013 Date: 2-4 October 2013 Venue: Tuheljske toplice (40 km from the City of Zagreb), Croatia Organised by: REGEA and FEDARENE Croatia was the host of the second Sustainable Energy Finance and decembrepage 7

8 no.2 EDITION 18 December 2013 Investment Summit - CROENERGY2013 on 2 4 October 2013, Tuheljske Toplice that aimed to identify innovative financing mechanisms for financing renewable energy projects. The focus of the event was put on sharing expertise and knowledge on preparation of projects for funding that ensure measurable energy efficiency and savings. Energy event of the year, as proclaimed by the Croatian media, was organized by the North-west Croatia Regional Energy Agency (REGEA) together with FEDARENE (European Federation of Agencies and Regions for Energy and Environment) and supported by the Commissions' programme ManagEnergy. For some of the leading energy and financial experts, this was their premier visit to Croatia bringing to the participants knowledge through presentations, specific case studies and moderated panel discussions. The conference gathered more than 300 attendees featuring, among others, key addresses of Croatian President Dr Ivo Josipovic, Croatian Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Dr Siniša Hajdaš Dončić, CoR ENVE Commission representative Michel Lebrun together with the managing director of REGEA and newly elected president of FEDARENE Dr Julije Domac as well as the Deputy Secretary General of FEDARENE, Christian Labie. Line up of experts when it comes to ESCO servicing and EPC was quite impressive featuring leading experts in the field that have an increasingly important role on the development of the energy services market in Europe. CROENERGY2013 managed to gather the best - experts, experiences and programs of the European Union. The energy sector in Croatia should be talking in the context of sustainable development, eligible investments, improving the quality of life for citizens, new sources of revenue for businesses and entrepreneurs, new ideas and radically different way of thinking. Energy projects are gearing up for years, they should be carefully decembrepage 8

9 no.2 EDITION 18 December 2013 designed and prepared. The knowledge that we bring to this conference shows that there are no shortcuts, and if you still use it it comes with a high price to pay in the end said at the conference opening REGEAs director Julije Domac. As a bi-annual event, CROENERGY2013 is the only event in Croatia that brings together all sectors and elements of the sustainable energy community and provides the best platform for project developers, financing institutions and local governments to drive innovation, business and investment opportunities across the sectors. NEWS IN BRIEF FROM SMEs This will be our "open space" for SMEs and for interviews from local actors, policy makers, experts on the theme of eco energy, possibly with photos of the authors or the interviewed persons. All SMEs of the network, in the partner countries, will be invited to send short articles (20 lines max). decembrepage 9

10 no.2 EDITION 18 December 2013 Moreover, short contribution from each partner will appear periodically, describing the "status of the art" of green and renewable energy in each partner region. Applications for articles are open Please write with your short proposal for an article to: NEWS ON PROGRAMMES - FUNDINGS - SERVICES Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication The Green Economy Report is compiled by UNEP s Green Economy Initiative in collaboration with economists and experts worldwide. It demonstrates that the greening of economies is not generally a drag on growth but rather a new engine of growth; that it is a net generator of decent jobs, and that it is also a vital strategy for the elimination of persistent poverty. The report also seeks to motivate policy makers to create the enabling conditions for increased investments in a transition to a green economy. decembrepage 10

11 no.2 EDITION 18 December 2013 DOWNLOAD ult.aspx BLUE ENERGY (from Eu commissioner blogger Maria Damanaki) Until today, despite the considerable investment, very little electricity has been generated using ocean power anywhere in the world. But the several hundreds international experts and world-leading companies in ocean energy that gathered in Dublin last week, at the 4th International Conference on Ocean Energy confirm that the tide is turning. And right so: waves, tides and currents can provide a dependable supply of clean energy, which could greatly help to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and European greenhouse gas emissions by about 65 Mt CO2 in And more: in 2011, people were directly and indirectly employed across Europe in offshore wind: we forecast that this number will grow to decembrepage 11

12 no.2 EDITION 18 December by 2020 and to by 2030 Thanks to its growth potential, Blue energy can revitalise coastal communities and give birth to new economic realities. But other sources of marine energy are not yet at the same stage of development: for wave and tidal power and for ocean thermal energy conversion, the challenge is to reduce technology costs to accelerate commercialisation and invest in grid connections and transmission capacity. EU measures can be crucial in creating confidence to invest. EU funding programmes have provided over 80 million since 2002 to support research and development into marine energy technologies. decembrepage 12

13 no.2 18 December 2013 EDITION PARTNERS Contact: Ana Benito T Contact: Antonella Benigno T Contact: Elisabeth Graf T Contact: Ferjani NEFFATI T Contact: Jean-Marie Dou jean-marie.dou@ccimp.com T Contact: Joao Mil-Homens joaomh@ualg.pt T Contact: Milica Projic milica.projic@raza.hr T Contact: Ioannis Daskalopoulos enterprise-europe@cciioannina.gr T Contact: Evangelos Douloufakis douloufakis@ccci.org.cy Tel: Contact: Germán Cuñat cunyat_ger@gva.es T Contact: Polona Lah polona.lah@ijs.si T

14 no.2 18 December 2013 EDITION