A variety of green and intelligent products are on display at the Sixth Silk Road International Exposition in NW China's Xi'an, which builds a platform to promote green development under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

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Study on prospects of developing green hydrogen in Georgia is to be launched within the frames of the Declaration of Intent, which was signed today between the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia and the German Development Bank (KfW). The document shall provide the development of the first pilot project in Georgia, which will ensure the development of clean and renewable energy in the country.

The main goals of the Declaration signed today are as follows:

• Assessment of the prospects and benefits of green hydrogen in Georgia;
• Implementation of the first pilot project, which will provide benefits to the economy and, consequently, help to attract investment to the country to develop clean and renewable energy;
• Reduce dependence on imported gas and increase security of supply;
• Increase the pace of development of renewable energy projects, mitigate carbon emissions and create export opportunities for the country.

Natia Turnava highlighted the importance of the fact that Georgia has already appeared on the map of green hydrogen study, in particular, the Energy Development Fund is actively working on the development of a pilot project, which will provide the first production of green hydrogen in Georgia. According to the Minister, this is a technology that allows to convert electricity into green hydrogen, especially for countries where there are renewable energy sources, including Georgia. 

“As a result, it will be possible to transport energy from regions saturated with renewable energy projects to the regions with energy shortages. This is the technology of the future and we are very proud that Georgia will be one of the first countries in the region to implement this technology in the real life with the support of our German partners,” – Natia Turnava commented.

"Electric", "zero-emission" and "green" are the buzzwords at the auto pavilion of the fourth China International Import Expo (CIIE).

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Two Georgian honey producers are presenting their products at the International Green Week, a one-of-a-kind annual international exhibition of the food, agriculture and gardening industries, in Berlin on 18-27 January. The event brings together over 1,700 exhibitors with over 100,000 products from all over the world.

Georgia will be featured through a range of products at the fair this year, but it is the first time that European consumers and trade visitors will have a chance to try Georgian honey, which is entering the European market under the brand name ‘TAPLI’ – the Georgian word for honey.

The creation of the TAPLI branding was preceded by a rigorous effort to develop the export capacities of Georgian honey, which took place in the framework of the EU4Business project “SME Development and DCFTA in Georgia”.

The Georgian stand at the International Green Week is organised by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, which also developed the TAPLI brand with support from the EU and the German government.

The SME Development and DCFTA in Georgia project, part of the EU4Business initiative, assists Georgian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to become more competitive and adapt to the new regulatory environment created under the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) with the EU.

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov attended the opening ceremony of the Kiyanly Polymer Plant whose commissioning created approximately 1000 jobs, and then launched the autumn tree planting campaign by planting the first tree beside the territory of the new gas chemical complex.

The attendees joined the head of state’s initiative. Representatives of nearly every branch of the national economy, diplomats accredited to Turkmenistan and foreign guests took part in the tree planting campaign.

Careful attitude towards mother nature is the highest priority of Turkmenistan’s state policy. Green arteries of forests stretch along highways and railways, while green oases emerge around the dynamically developing industrial infrastructure, the rapidly growing towns and new settlements. Millions of trees were planted on the foothills of the Kopetdag Mountains that lie side by side with the white marble-cladded city of Ashgabat.

Particular attention is devoted to the emerald attire of Avaza National Tourist Zone. This investment project of major socio-economic importance, unprecedented in scale, has become an innovative model of integrated development of the regions. Kick-starting the rapid development of the tourist industry, the Avaza Project embraced several factors that influence Turkmenistan’s prosperity: the integrated use of the richest natural resources; recreational opportunities; the country’s advantageous location in terms of transit and transport and the ensuing diversification of the national economy.

Currently, according to the domestic specialists’ estimation and reputable international experts’ opinion, the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea is considered to be the most environmentally sustainable due to the focused works in this area. Environmentally friendly advanced technologies provide a framework for the urban development, the oil and gas sector, the chemical industry, the electric power industry and the agriculture. They also serve as essential criteria of the socio-economic programs, major international and regional projects deployed in the country.

The Turkmenbashi Complex of Oil Refineries, the flagship plant of the domestic petrochemical industry, is a concrete example of that. It is being modernized and technically re-equipped with the use of cutting-edge technology and technical solutions that help prevent technogenic damage to the environment.

The project for the construction of the International Sea Port in the city of Turkmenbashi, which was commissioned this May, was designed in accordance with the Green port international standard. To preserve the environment of the Caspian Sea, every terminal was provided with the bio-purifying equipment. It is remarkable that the soil extracted at the construction of the port was used to create an artificial island with the total area of 170 hectares in the gulf waters. It became a living, nesting and wintering ground for flamingoes, swans, geese, ducks, herons, pelicans and other birds.

Innovative technology is used in production of mineral fertilizers at the Garabogazkarbamid plant that became a valuable addition to the infrastructure of the country’s chemical industry in September. The environmental safety of this enterprise was confirmed by certificates from the reputable international organizations.

The new stage in implementing the National Forest Program was marked with the Resolution by the head of state, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, under which 3 million trees will be planted during the 2018 tree planting campaign. 1.5 million will be planted on the land between the districts of Ak Bugday and Baherden (Ahal province), and the same number of leafy, coniferous, fruit trees and vines will be planted on the outskirts of administrative centers of the provinces and in the cities. More than 445 thousand trees were planted in the country’s forest parks this spring.

The state news agency of Turkmenistan

Twelve journalists from Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan visited the Republic of Moldova on 21-24 may to learn about the results of the Energy and Biomass Project, funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme. The visit took place in the framework of the EU4Energy Initiative.

The journalists visited a kindergarten in the town of Nisporeni, where 270 children have hot water thanks to solar panels installed with the help of the Energy and Biomass Project. During winter, the entire surface of the kindergarten is heated with green energy produced in the Republic of Moldova.

To heat its rooms, the kindergarten, together with the city hall, buys pellets produced in Moldova, meaning the money it spends on energy remains in the country.

Another stop on the tour was the briquette production line in the city of Balti. Ludmila Abramciuc and Ivan Damaschin are beneficiaries of the Energy and Biomass Project grant programme, thanks to which they were able to buy, and repay in instalments, the necessary equipment for biofuel production.

The journalists also attended a lesson on renewable energy at a school in Chiscareni village, Sangerei district. Together with the students of “Nicolae Casso” school, they answered questions on the green energy sector, as well as making a parabolic solar collector. Professor Nicolae Spanu guided the team through this.

The school in Chiscareni village is also the first public institution in the Republic of Moldova to have switched to biomass heating. In 2005, thanks to a project funded by the World Bank, a biomass power plant using straw bales was installed at the school. To this day, the institution continues to benefit from clean energy.

Meanwhile, the community has connected other public institutions to green energy. The kindergarten in the village has electricity produced by photovoltaic panels and hot water from solar collectors. Next winter, the city hall will replace its stoves with a biomass heating system, installed with the help of European funds through the Energy and Biomass Project.

The EU-funded and UNDP-implemented Energy and Biomass Project in Moldova is part of the EU4Energy Initiative and aims to contribute to the reliable, competitive and sustainable production of energy from biomass, which is the most viable and available source of renewable energy in the Republic of Moldova.

EU4Energy covers all EU support to improve energy supply, security and connectivity, as well as to promote energy efficiency and the use of renewables in the Eastern Partner countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine). It does this by financing projects and programmes that help to reform energy markets and to reduce national energy dependence and consumption. Over the long term, this makes energy supply more reliable, transparent and affordable, thus reducing energy poverty and energy bills for both citizens and the private sector.