Publication: Lights Out? The Outlook for Energy in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Loading...
Date
2010-05
ISSN
Published
2010-05
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
It is very likely that an energy crunch could hit several countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA) in the next five or six years. Before the financial crisis of 2008, several electricity importing countries in the region had begun to experience difficulties with supply; however, the crisis has reduced demand and created some breathing room. It has also created a window of opportunity to take action to mitigate the impact of the anticipated energy crunch. But countries need to act now. Mitigating actions are required on both the supply side and the demand side and will require significant investments (about $3.3 trillion in 2008 dollars over the next 20 years, or about 3% of cumulative gross domestic product) if the region wants to meet all its anticipated energy needs. This level of investment cannot be provided by the public sector alone and measures will be required to create a climate that appeals to private sector investors. In conclusion, the region faces a potential energy crunch. The financial crisis has provided some breathing room to address the potential energy constraints, but countries need to act quickly to take advantage of this window of opportunity by promoting an attractive climate for investment. At the same time they need to ensure that the energy strategies they pursue are perceived as being responsive to environmental concerns.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2010. Lights Out? The Outlook for Energy in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Europe and Central Asia Knowledge Brief; Volume No. 23. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10190 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Lights out? The Outlook for Energy in Eastern Europe and Central Asia(World Bank, 2010)Before the current economic crisis hit the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region in 2008, energy security was a major source of concern in Central and Eastern Europe and in many of the economies in the former Soviet Union. Energy importers were experiencing shortages leading to periodic brownouts and blackouts. An energy crisis seemed imminent. This report analyzes the outlook for energy demand and supply in the region. It estimates the investment requirements and highlights the potential environmental concerns associated with meeting future energy needs, including those related to climate change. The report also proposes the actions necessary to create an attractive environment for investment in cleaner energy. Greater regional cooperation for smart energy and climate action is an important part of the World Bank's engagement in Europe and Central Asia.Publication Ukraine : Investment Plan for the Clean Technology Fund(Washington, DC, 2010-01)This report describes the Ukraine Investment Plan for the Clean Technology Fund. Ukraine is a lower middle income country, with GDP per capita of US$1,940 in 2006. After a decade of steep economic decline, economic growth rebounded in 2000 and GDP grew by about 7.5 percent per year on average until 2007. To recover its economic growth and improve competitiveness, Ukraine will need to address a combination of challenges. Improving the energy efficiency of the economy and thereby reducing its vulnerability to further import price shocks, as well as modernizing the energy sector to make it more efficient, are among those challenges. The Energy Strategy of Ukraine for the Period until 2030, adopted in 2006, provides a platform for addressing these issues over the three distinct phases of development envisaged for the country. Energy and industry are the priority sectors for intervention as they account for 69 percent and 22 percent of country s GHG emissions, respectively The interventions with the highest potential for reducing GHG emissions in Ukraine are: (1) energy efficiency; (2) increased use of nuclear power; (3) implementation of high efficiency combustion technologies and carbon capture and storage (CCS) for new coal-fired plants; and (4) renewable energy.Publication Uzbekistan : Energy/Power Sector Issues Note(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-06)This note focuses on the energy and power sector in Uzbekistan with the purpose of identifying some of the key issues faced by the sector and outlining potential solutions. In particular, the note aims to inform the Government thinking by providing input on priorities in the sector. The note also outlines potential solutions the Government may want to consider to address the identified challenges in the short and longer time and highlights the areas where the Government can start acting immediately. The analysis is based on the information and data provided by the Government during preparation of the Bank's investment lending operations, other analytical work as well as data/information collected from public sources. The note is structured as follows: section one discusses the importance of the energy sector to the economy and provides an overview of the sector. Section two provides a more detailed overview of the power sector. Section three identifies the principal challenges in the power sector. Section four proposes potential solutions to address these challenges. Finally, section five outlines a potential role for the World Bank in supporting the Government to address power sector challenges.Publication Development of Low-Carbon Energy Supply System in Romania(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-06)Despite the declining trends in total energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, energy intensity, and emission intensity over the past two decades, Romania still emits more greenhouse gas per unit of output than many other members of the European Union. The country is looking for further greening of its energy supply system to achieve the clean energy and climate change mitigation goals included in the European Unions 2030 target and 2050 Roadmap. Using an energy supply optimization model, TIMES, this study develops energy supply mixes for Romania under a baseline scenario that satisfies the European Unions current energy and climate targets for 2020, a green scenario that satisfies the European Unions 2030 energy and climate targets, and a super green scenario that satisfies the European Unions prospective 2050 energy road map. The study finds that although Romania could achieve the green scenario at a moderate cost, it would be challenging and costly to achieve the super green scenario.Publication Energy Efficiency in Russia : Untapped Reserves(Washington, DC, 2014-10)This report was designed to provide senior Russian policymakers with a comprehensive and practical analysis of energy efficiency in Russia: potential, benefits, and recommendations on how to fully tap into this resource. Shortly after his inauguration, President Medvedev made several public statements identifying Russia s inefficient use of energy, and the associated economic and ecological consequences, as one of the most pressing problems facing the nation. He has called for an action plan to halve Russia s energy intensity by 2020. The goal of this report is to make a significant contribution toward developing such a plan.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication South Asia Development Update, April 2024: Jobs for Resilience(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-04-02)South Asia is expected to continue to be the fastest-growing emerging market and developing economy (EMDE) region over the next two years. This is largely thanks to robust growth in India, but growth is also expected to pick up in most other South Asian economies. However, growth in the near-term is more reliant on the public sector than elsewhere, whereas private investment, in particular, continues to be weak. Efforts to rein in elevated debt, borrowing costs, and fiscal deficits may eventually weigh on growth and limit governments' ability to respond to increasingly frequent climate shocks. Yet, the provision of public goods is among the most effective strategies for climate adaptation. This is especially the case for households and farms, which tend to rely on shifting their efforts to non-agricultural jobs. These strategies are less effective forms of climate adaptation, in part because opportunities to move out of agriculture are limited by the region’s below-average employment ratios in the non-agricultural sector and for women. Because employment growth is falling short of working-age population growth, the region fails to fully capitalize on its demographic dividend. Vibrant, competitive firms are key to unlocking the demographic dividend, robust private investment, and workers’ ability to move out of agriculture. A range of policies could spur firm growth, including improved business climates and institutions, the removal of financial sector restrictions, and greater openness to trade and capital flows.Publication Economic Recovery(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-04-06)World Bank Group President David Malpass spoke about the world facing major challenges, including COVID, climate change, rising poverty and inequality and growing fragility and violence in many countries. He highlighted vaccines, working closely with Gavi, WHO, and UNICEF, the World Bank has conducted over one hundred capacity assessments, many even more before vaccines were available. The World Bank Group worked to achieve a debt service suspension initiative and increased transparency in debt contracts at developing countries. The World Bank Group is finalizing a new climate change action plan, which includes a big step up in financing, building on their record climate financing over the past two years. He noted big challenges to bring all together to achieve GRID: green, resilient, and inclusive development. Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, mentioned focusing on vulnerable people during the pandemic. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, focused on giving everyone a fair shot during a sustainable recovery. All three commented on the importance of tackling climate change.Publication Remarks at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-12)World Bank Group President David Malpass discussed biodiversity and climate change being closely interlinked, with terrestrial and marine ecosystems serving as critically important carbon sinks. At the same time climate change acts as a direct driver of biodiversity and ecosystem services loss. The World Bank has financed biodiversity conservation around the world, including over 116 million hectares of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas, 10 million hectares of Terrestrial Protected Areas, and over 300 protected habitats, biological buffer zones and reserves. The COVID pandemic, biodiversity loss, climate change are all reminders of how connected we are. The recovery from this pandemic is an opportunity to put in place more effective policies, institutions, and resources to address biodiversity loss.Publication Media and Messages for Nutrition and Health(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06)The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) has experienced rapid and significant economic growth over the past decade. However, poor nutritional outcomes remain a concern. Rates of childhood undernutrition are particularly high in remote, rural, and upland areas. Media have the potential to play an important role in shaping health and nutrition–related behaviors and practices as well as in promoting sociocultural and economic development that might contribute to improved nutritional outcomes. This report presents the results of a media audit (MA) that was conducted to inform the development and production of mass media advocacy and communication strategies and materials with a focus on maternal and child health and nutrition that would reach the most people from the poorest communities in northern Lao PDR. Making more people aware of useful information, essential services and products and influencing them to use these effectively is the ultimate goal of mass media campaigns, and the MA measures the potential effectiveness of media efforts to reach this goal. The effectiveness of communication channels to deliver health and nutrition messages to target beneficiaries to ensure maximum reach and uptake can be viewed in terms of preferences, satisfaction, and trust. Overall, the four most accessed media channels for receiving information among communities in the study areas were village announcements, mobile phones, television, and out-of-home (OOH) media. Of the accessed media channels, the top three most preferred channels were village announcements (40 percent), television (26 percent), and mobile phones (19 percent). In terms of trust, village announcements were the most trusted source of information (64 percent), followed by mobile phones (14 percent) and television (11 percent). Hence of all the media channels, village announcements are the most preferred, have the most satisfied users, and are the most trusted source of information in study communities from four provinces in Lao PDR with some of the highest burden of childhood undernutrition.Publication Making Procurement Work Better – An Evaluation of the World Bank’s Procurement System(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-12-06)This evaluation assesses the results, successes, and challenges of the World Bank 2016 procurement reform. Procurements acquire the works, goods, and services necessary to achieve the World Bank’s project development outcomes. The World Bank’s procurement processes must ensure that clients get the best value for every development dollar. In 2016, the World Bank reformed its procurement system for Investment Project Financing and launched a new procurement framework aimed at enhancing the Bank’s development effectiveness through better procurement. The reform sought to reduce procurement bottlenecks impeding project performance and modernize procurement systems. It emphasized cutting edge international good practice principles and was intended to be accompanied by procurement capacity strengthening to help client countries. This evaluation offers three recommendations to scale up reform implementation and enhance portfolio and project performance: (i) Improve change management support for the reform’s implementation. (ii) Strategically strengthen country-level procurement capacity. (iii) Consistently manage the full spectrum of procurement risks to maximize project success.