Green investment scheme for Latvian industries

Panel: 1. Programmes to promote industrial energy efficiency

This is a peer-reviewed paper.

Authors:
Līga Ozoliņa, Riga Technical University, Institute of Energy Systems and Environment, Latvia
Marika Rosa
Anna Paturska
Anna Beloborodko

Abstract

Over the last decade, energy efficiency in the Latvian industrial sector has not been structurally addressed and only a few activities have been implemented to promote energy efficiency in the sector. The industrial sector is considered to be the main driving force for economic growth in Latvia, especially after the economic crisis that Latvia experienced in 2008 and 2009. Therefore, it is even more important to prepare a suitable environment for efficient production, by producing more products and goods with less energy consumption. However, different studies indicate that the energy intensity of Latvian industries is still very high compared to the EU-15. In order to sustain economic growth, there is a need for the Latvian industrial sector to become more efficient and reduce its energy intensity.

The Green Investment Scheme (GIS) is a programme that was developed in Latvia in 2007 to increase the use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency. Funding of the programme is assured from public revenues by selling the assigned amount units (AAUs) within the Kyoto protocol. In 2010, the first official programme to support energy efficiency for industry was announced under the GIS. The first lessons learnt show that there is a necessity for such a programme in order to increase the energy efficiency in the Latvian industrial sector.