2011 Global Microcredit Summit Offsets Carbon Emissions through XacBank and MicroEnergy Credits
/17 November 2011/ The Global Microcredit Summit 2011 (www.microcreditsummit.org), a key microfinance event which attracts 2,000 delegates from over 100 countries, is offsetting its carbon emissions through a project implemented by MicroEnergy Credits and XacBank. The emissions reductions have been generated by over 400 insulation coverings used bygers, traditional felt homes in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. This carbon funding will enable microfinance households to access improved home insulation, which significantly reduces the amount of coal burned for home heating. The reduction in carbon emissions is also associated with a reduction in air pollution, a life-threatening health issue in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
XacBank’s VP of Retail Banking Delgerjargal Bayanjargal said, “We are priveleged to be the first microfinance institution to provide carbon emissions reductions to offset the Global Microcredit Summit. The clean energy program we’ve developed in Mongolia can be replicated around the world, and we look forward to sharing our story with MFIs attending the Summit.”
James Dailey, CTO of MicroEnergy Credits (MEC) said, “"We're especially pleased to highlight the benefits of carbon financing for Microfinance Institutions and to share the success of our partner XacBank in taking advantage of the carbon platform and supplier tracking solution offered by MEC. “
Bayanjargal and April Allderdice, CEO of MEC will participate as panelists in the session Accessing Carbon Finance through Clean Energy Lending Programs at the 2011 Global Microcredit Summit taking place during 14-17th November in Valladolid, Spain. The session will detail how microfinance institutions can scale clean energy programs.
To date, XacBank has distributed over 20,000 energy efficient stoves and over 7,000 ger blankets, resulting in total reduction of over 42,100 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. In December 2009 with the purchase of emissions reductions by MicroEnergy Credits, XacBank became the first microfinance institution in the northern hemisphere to receive carbon revenues.
Ends.
For more information about the carbon offsetting of the event, please contact:
Josie Noah Megan O’Neil
Program Officer,MicroEnergy Credits Eco Banking Department Operations Manager, XacBank
josie.noah@microenergycredits.com Megan.oneil@xacbank.mn
Dalia Palchik
Media & Communications Director
Notes to editor
Ulaanbaatar is both the coldest capital city and the most polluted city in the world by particulate matter during the winter months, largely due to households in slum areas surrounding the city burning coal and wood in low-quality stoves to combat freezing winter temperatures. XacBank and MicroEnergy Credits launched a clean energy program in 2009 to address pollution by providing access to affordable energy efficient products, including gerblankets and improved cooking stoves, which can each family’s fuel use in half.
By 2018, XacBank and MicroEnergy Credits expect to generate over one million tons of CO2 emissions reductions from the program in Mongolia. All revenues from emission reductions will go directly into expanding and sustaining the program, from operating the sales and distribution centers throughout the city, expanding client education and marketing, to lowering interest rates further for consumer loans and loans to local producers of energy efficient products.
About XacBank
XacBank is a Mongolian microfinance institution and community development bank. Now one of the top five banks in the country, XacBank serves microfinance customers, small- and medium- sized enterprises, as well as large corporations with a range of inclusive banking, fair investment, and other financial products and services. Founded out of the merger of a microfinance institution and SME lending institution, in 2001, the bank maintains its commitment to provide services to under banked. In 2007, Forbes magazine named XacBank as one of the top 100 MFIs globally. Today the bank strives to contribute to the sustainable development of the country, adhering to a triple bottom line mission and vision, working for “People, Planet, and Profit.”
About MicroEnergy Credits
MicroEnergy Credits is a s a financial intermediary which links microfinance institutions to the carbon markets when they lend for clean energy. Founded in 2007 and based in Seattle, Washington, MicroEnergy Credits works with Microfinance Institutions and Carbon Emission Reducers around the world. MEC is a for-profit social enterprise financed by impact investors. MicroEnergy Credits won the 2008 Global Social Venture Business Plan Competition. Today, MEC reaches over 80,000 households with clean energy services.
