Ramallah, November 23rd, 2022 - The third meeting of the Steering Committee of the MOUSTADAMA Programme was held on Wednesday, November 23rd. Chaired by H.E. the Minister of National Economy, Mr. Khaled Osaily, the Steering Committee has reviewed the outcomes of the activities implemented from September 2019 to October 2022 and discussed work plans and priorities for the Programme’s final implementation phase.
The Steering Committee saw the participation of the highest level of the Programme governance chart, which includes H.E. Mr. Khaled Osaily, Minister of National Economy, Mr. Charles Raudot de Châtenay, Head of Economic Development of the European Union in Jerusalem, together with Mr. Tareq Emtairah, Ms. Rana Ghoneim and Mr. Ahmed ElFarra of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
A four-year Programme promoting the development and implementation of sustainable energy solutions for the Palestinian Industry, MOUSTADAMA aims to set the foundations for a conducive renewable energy and energy efficiency ecosystem by developing policy, expertise, and clean technology innovations that will help Palestinian industries to alleviate chronic energy shortages and high costs of electricity that have been the reality in Palestine for decades. The Programme is implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Palestine and funded by the European Union Representative Office in Jerusalem and in partnership with the Ministry of National Economy (MoNE) and in cooperation with the Palestinian Energy and National Resources Authority (PENRA).
The Head of UNIDO Palestine Programme Office Ahmed ElFarra thanked the Committee members for the continuous support and stressed the important objective of the meeting to provide strategic oversight on the Program directions, especially in line with the effort to sustain benefits beyond the project’s lifetime. UNIDO illustrated the results achieved during the past year: the work of the Technical Committee on Sustainable Energy has been progressing and has resulted in a line of technical and financial recommendations for the net metering enforcement that are now before the Committee, the graduation rates from the first Energy Management Systems training were celebrated (28 participants were trained, 18 were awarded as UNIDO EnMS Certified Experts), the new training opportunities offered in the fields of renewable energy and finance were introduced, the ongoing implementation of the Demonstration Projects with the 38 energy audits completed were detailed, together with the first achievements in terms of energy savings and carbon emissions reduction resulting from the first group of beneficiary industries, which amount respectively to 5,969.3 MWh and 3,996.65 Tons of Co2. The results and achievements of the first Palestine CleanTech Innovation Competition were also presented (32 cleantech ideas submitted, 3 Palestine CleanTech Champions), along with the second Acceleration Program and the work done together with the CleanTech Hubs to root the culture of cleantech in Palestinian entrepreneurship.
The Ministry of National Economy H.E. Mr. Khaled Osaily issued the following statement regarding the achievements and impact of the MOUSTADAMA Programme:
“The Ministry of National Economy is pleased to note the solid progress in the Programme implementation and the excellent results achieved greening the Palestinian industries” stated H.E. the Minister of National Economy, Mr. Khaled Osaily. “The Ministry is an integral part of the efforts to strengthen the energy resilience of Palestinian industries in a direct and strategic partnership with the UNIDO: through the work of the Technical Committee for Sustainable Energy and the establishment of the Green Industries Division, we will be able to meet the real needs of the industrial sector through an enhanced policy and a support infrastructure that can facilitate the green transition of Palestinian industries. The adoption of new sustainable energy solutions owes much to the presence of a clear vision, a solid expertise on the ground, and to the development of a new awareness on the role played by clean energy. The MOUSTADAMA Programme has excelled in making a difference in all these fields”.
The representative of the European Union Representative Office (EUREP) in Jerusalem, Mr. Giacomo Miserocchi, acknowledged the successful implementation of the MOUSTADAMA Programme and highlighted the need to support the Palestinian private sector also through a conducive regulatory environment.
“The solid results achieved by the MOUSTADAMA Programme confirm how crucial it is to support the Palestinian private sector in its path towards establishing a greater energy security, but also and moreover how Palestinian entrepreneurs are ready to respond to this call”, stated Mr. Giacomo Miserocchi, Project Officer at EUREP in Jerusalem. “They are the ones, first and foremost, who make investments in energy efficient and renewable energy solutions, because they clearly see the business opportunity. However, any pivotal accomplishment will ever be enough if not sustained by a conducive enabling environment, with the Ministry of National Economy playing a key role in making this happen”.
The representatives of UNIDO, Ms. Rana Ghoneim and Mr. Ahmed ElFarra, stressed the importance of strong partnerships and renewed their commitment to support all the stakeholders involved in the Programme’s implementation.
“UNIDO is pleased to offer its expertise to support our national partners in implementing innovative programs aimed at enhancing energy transition and performance”, said Ms. Rana Ghoneim, Chief of the Energy Systems and Decarbonization Unit at UNIDO in Vienna. “By working with our partners and stakeholders, we are sure that we will be able support capacities and design policy instruments that encourage innovation and competitiveness. Sustainable energy solutions for industries will help Palestine on the path of inclusive and sustainable development”.
"The synergistic approach that distinguishes our Program is beginning to yield concrete and tangible results” affirmed Mr. Ahmed ElFarra, Head of UNIDO Programme Office in Palestine. “We are pleased with the partnerships and progress achieved toward finalizing the policy for net-metering, in capacity building and stimulating entrepreneurship. Many women and men have found in our Programme new opportunities to strengthen their skills or develop their own business projects. Industries have found a reliable methodology and tools to approach and review their energy costs. I thank the partners for the close coordination in the work developed, which certainly offered an essential contribution to the effectiveness of the Programme’s implementation. Now it is time to focus on the final months of development and on building a sustainability model that can make the results achieved stable and lasting”, he continued.
The next Steering Committee meeting of the MOUSTADAMA Programme is expected to take place in March 2023.
