Climate change leads to annual losses of about $100 million in the South Caucasus countries, World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus Rolande Pryce said at an event on climate financing in the South Caucasus and Central Asia within the COP29, Report informs.
"Decarbonization in these countries is hindered by several aspects. For example, renewable energy opportunities are not fully utilized, and traditional energy sources are preferred in transport and heating," she noted.
She added that the World Bank encourages economic diversification and sustainability and tries to emphasize the benefits of reducing air pollution.
"This serves both the economic interests of countries and their healthy future," she said.
The regional director also highlighted two main climate challenges in the region: lack of skills and limited access to climate financing.
"Especially small municipalities experience difficulties in finding financial resources for climate projects. At the same time, there aren't enough specialists to develop programs," she noted.
The World Bank representative believes that to increase financing, it is important to allocate grant resources, especially for implementing government projects with limited budgets.