The United Nations, the government of Uruguay and seven banks are joining forces to support and co-finance investments to boost the decarbonization of industry and transportation.

After the first energy transition, today the electricity matrix in Uruguay is almost 100% renewable. The second energy transition is a countrywide objective, which implies the use of this electric energy to replace other fossil fuel-based sources. the use of this electrical energy to replace other fossil fuel-based sources.

The REIF Uruguay program is an initiative promoted by the United Nations and the national government, which seeks to promote promote the second energy transition in the country through an innovative financial instrument to catalyze private sector investments aimed at implementing infrastructure and technology to decarbonize industry and transportation.

The REIF trust began operating in 2023 and already has agreements with seven commercial banks in the country (BBVA, HSBC, BROU, Heritage, Santander, Scotiabank and Itaú). Its first financial operations (of a reimbursable nature) amounted to a total of US$4 million, of which US$1 million corresponded to REIF and US$3 million to the banks, and were oriented to energy transformation plans linked to electric mobility and energy efficiency.

REIF also supports companies through technical assistance to measure and enhance the economic, social and environmental impact of their investment projects, as well as to carry out feasibility studies and validation of technologies and business models.

In the same sense, it supports the strengthening of the ESG vision of the banking system, and the capacity to evaluate the impact of projects beyond financial viability and thus promote the adoption of sustainable and responsible practices in companies seeking bank financing.

REIF as a program was born after the United Nations Joint Fund for the SDGs selected the project presented by Uruguay among more than 150 initiatives presented worldwide, financing it with 10 million dollars.

It is a strong commitment to a new and promising financing model for development, which is also being applied in a country where the conditions for its success are in place: solid and strengthened institutions and a topic of special interest to the government. In the future, the REIF model could be replicated in other regions and in different areas.

UNIDO is the lead UN agency in the implementation of REIF. From that perspective Manuel Albaladejo, Representative of the UNIDO office for the Southern Cone, argues that "REIF was conceived to catalyze triple impact private financing and break with the traditional model of cooperation that is no longer applicable to middle and high income countries such as Uruguay. It is a new way of creating public-private partnerships for development financing."

The Deputy Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining, Walter Verri, confirmed that "After a successful first energy transition, instruments such as REIF consolidate the country's mission to move towards decarbonization, involving all actors in the system in the search for a more sustainable Uruguay".

REIF Uruguay is an initiative promoted by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining, the Ministry of Environment, the Planning and Budget Office, UTE, the United Nations Uruguay, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations Women's Organization.