In depth

In the Republic of Moldova, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) continues to be the leading development partner in the areas of environment, energy, and climate change, providing strategic and sustained support for the country's resilient transformation. As Moldova faces the dual challenges of aligning with EU environmental, climate and energy directives while addressing pressing national vulnerabilities, UNDP plays a catalytic role in supporting both the government and society in their transition to a low-emission, climate-resilient, and sustainable development model.

UNDP's engagement is comprehensive, encompassing a wide range of policy and implementation areas. At the national level, it supports in the design and institutionalization of climate-sensitive, and energy-secure policies and regulatory frameworks, contributing to Moldova’s long-term resilience and alignment with European standards.

This includes integrating climate risk considerations into sectoral planning, mainstreaming environmental standards across government functions and ensuring compliance with Moldova’s commitments under various multilateral environmental conventions, protocols, and agreements.

Simultaneously, UNDP bridges the gap between policy and practice by piloting and scaling up innovative, on-the-ground solutions. These efforts range from enhancing energy security through the deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures, to building community resilience through climate adaptation interventions and sustainable land management. UNDP also facilitates technology transfer, promotes digital and regulatory innovation and strengthens institutional and technical capacities at all levels of governance.

Through partnerships with central and local public authorities, civil society, academia, the private sector, and vulnerable communities, UNDP fosters inclusive and participatory approaches that ensure no one is left behind in the green transition. This includes supporting women’s empowerment in climate action, engaging youth, facilitating community-based climate solutions, and expanding access to sustainable energy in rural and underserved areas. In doing so, UNDP not only contributes to Moldova’s environmental and climate objectives but also supports broader goals of democratic governance, economic resilience, and social inclusion.

Climate change adaptation and disaster risk management

With UNDP’s sustained support, Moldova has made significant strides in institutionalizing its climate change coordination mechanisms. Notable progress has been achieved in enhancing the capacities of the State Hydro-Meteorological Service to deliver tailored and timely climate services, enabling the country to better anticipate, prepare for and mitigate climate-related impacts—particularly in the highly vulnerable agricultural sector. In parallel, targeted actions have been undertaken to strengthen national and local capacities for more effective management of floods and flash floods.

UNDP continues to assist the Government of Moldova in implementing national adaptation and resilience-building initiatives aimed at addressing both immediate and long-term climate vulnerabilities. Strategic interventions, such as the expansion and modernization of agro-meteorological, hydrological, and meteorological monitoring networks, are enhancing early warning and forecasting systems, with particular focus on protecting rural and agricultural communities.

A key milestone has been the establishment of the national climate information platform clima.gov.md, which serves as a centralized hub for accessing real-time data, climate projections, and adaptation resources—thereby strengthening decision-making across sectors and levels of governance.

To increase the transparency and efficiency of climate-related public spending, UNDP is supporting the development and rollout of a climate budget tagging methodology. This tool enables the Government to systematically track and prioritize climate expenditures across sectors and institutions, strengthening accountability in the use of climate finance.

UNDP’s support extends to empowering rural women and communities through access to alternative livelihoods, knowledge, and services that promote the sustainable management of forests, water resources—including in transboundary contexts—and agricultural land. These actions are critical to enhancing local-level climate resilience and enabling inclusive adaptation strategies.

In 2024, Moldova adopted the National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy for 2024–2030, developed with UNDP support. This strategy aims to reduce human and economic losses caused by disasters, enhance community resilience, and protect the environment. Additionally, with UNDP's assistance, several communities, including district centers, have developed and adopted Climate Change Adaptation Plans. These plans reflect the specific needs of each community and outline concrete measures to overcome the effects of climate change and the risks associated with natural disasters. 

As Moldova continues to advance its climate agenda, UNDP will remain a committed partner in strengthening institutional capacities, technical expertise, and knowledge management systems. These efforts will enable the country to more effectively implement adaptation measures and access climate finance, ensuring long-term resilience and sustainable development.

Green and just energy transition 

UNDP will promote the green development agenda aimed at reducing the country’s carbon footprint and the vulnerability to climate change and degradation of natural resources. UNDP will support the Government of Moldova in development of the enabling framework for the green transition and initiate actions to promote resource efficient and circular economy, low-carbon transportation, and clean energy in line with requirements of EU Accession.  

On just energy transition, UNDP will engage with the residential and private sectors to enhance adoption of energy efficient and renewable practices and technologies. In addition, UNDP will facilitate transforming the national electricity grid to a smart one, through piloting smart metering technology, thereby laying the foundation for an improved evidence-based decision making in the energy sector.

Similarly, UNDP is committed to serving as a platform for fostering regulatory innovations for the energy sector in a sandbox environment, such as energy communities. Further implementation of the Eco-Voucher and Green Home programmes, while taking into consideration energy vulnerability and gender dimensions, will prevent vulnerable households, particularly those led by women, from falling under the poverty line.

UNDP technical assistance is provided to operationalize the integrated National Energy and Climate Plan as an integrated 10-year plan that details steps to meet the energy efficiency, renewable energy and other targets for 2030, in line with the EU Regulation on the governance of the energy union and EU’s clean energy package.   

Energy Vulnerability Reduction Fund

Tackling energy vulnerability and poverty in a crisis context requires a comprehensive and adaptive response. This includes a combination of emergency measures to stabilise households in the short term and longer-term investments to strengthen resilience. The approach involves targeted compensation, increased access to renewable energy, promotion of energy efficiency and conservation and support for community-led solutions.

In response to the urgent energy crisis, the Government of Moldova, with UNDP support, launched the Energy Vulnerability Reduction Fund (EVRF) in September 2022. Designed as an evidence‑based compensation mechanism, the EVRF mitigates the impact of higher heating costs (across all sources) on vulnerable households, while strengthening preparedness for future shocks.

An inclusive and accessible enrolment process was rolled out in October 2022. UNDP helped design the online registration platform, establish a dedicated call centre, facilitate assisted registration for vulnerable applicants and lead nationwide outreach campaigns. Nearly half of all applications were submitted with support from social workers, ensuring access for households with limited digital connectivity.

Over three heating seasons the EVRF has progressively narrowed its focus, supporting 895,000 households in 2022‑2023, 792,000 in 2023‑2024 and 719,000 in 2024-2025. Impact assessments by UNDP and the World Bank confirm measurable reductions in both energy and monetary poverty among beneficiaries, with benefits extending beyond the winter months.

UNDP continues to mobilise resources for the EVRF and is working with the Government to integrate the scheme into the national digital social‑protection platform (eSocial), ensuring long‑term sustainability, improved service delivery and a just, inclusive energy transition.

Environment protection and biodiversity conservation  

UNDP Moldova has a long-standing partnership with national environment authorities, providing integrated policy and programmatic support in areas such as water resource management, biodiversity conservation, waste management, land restoration and air quality monitoring. These efforts are closely aligned with Moldova’s commitments under the European Green Deal and the national green transition agenda.

To support Moldova in meeting its biodiversity commitments, UNDP is implementing the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) – a globally recognized methodology that helps countries assess current biodiversity expenditures, identify financial gaps and design integrated financing solutions. 

In the water sector, UNDP is improving water governance and promoting sustainable water resource management, with a particular focus on the transboundary Nistru River. New surface water sampling techniques are being piloted to enhance the accuracy and responsiveness of Moldova’s water quality monitoring system, laying the foundation for long-term, evidence-based water management. 

UNDP is also supporting the modernization and expansion of Moldova’s national air quality monitoring network. This includes the deployment of new monitoring stations, digitalization of data collection, and strengthened institutional capacities for real-time air pollution tracking and public information dissemination. The upgraded system will enable more accurate air quality assessments and support the design of informed policies to reduce emissions and protect public health. 

UNDP is scaling up nature-based and climate-resilient solutions at the community level. In partnership with local public authorities, women’s groups, youth, civil society, and the private sector, UNDP supports locally led climate action that contributes directly to national environmental and climate goals. This includes piloting sustainable land use, ecosystem restoration, community-driven renewable energy, and green infrastructure initiatives. 

Through the Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP), UNDP empowers local communities and grassroots organizations to be catalysts for environmental change. Over 250 civil society organizations across Moldova have been supported to design and implement projects on biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, sustainable forest management, green urban planning, and combating land degradation. These initiatives not only improve environmental outcomes but also strengthen social cohesion, local governance, and inclusive development.

UNDP is also contributing to wetland conservation and restoration, particularly in the Lower Prut region, one of Moldova’s most ecologically significant wetland areas. Through targeted interventions, UNDP is working to restore degraded wetland ecosystems, improve water retention and flood regulation functions, and enhance biodiversity conservation. These actions not only support the ecological health of the Prut River basin but also build climate resilience for surrounding communities by mitigating drought and flood risks.