European Investment Bank commits to ending the financing of fossil fuel projects

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has said they will end financing for fossil fuel energy projects from the end of 2021.

The bank has announced a new round of climate goals, including unlocking 1 trillion Euros of climate action and environmental sustainable investment in the decade to 2030, to align with the Paris Agreement for a more sustainable future.

Today’s decision ends an open and inclusive review process which involved industry, institutions, civil society, and the public at large. Since January, the bank had received more than 149 written submissions from concerned organisations and individuals and petitions signed by more than 30,000 people.

Werner Hoyer, EIB President, said: “Climate is the top issue on the political agenda of our time. Scientists estimate that we are currently heading for 3-4°C of temperature increase by the end of the century. If that happens, large portions of our planet will become uninhabitable, with disastrous consequences for people around the world."

"The EU bank has been Europe’s climate bank for many years. Today it has decided to make a quantum leap in its ambition. We will stop financing fossil fuels and we will launch the most ambitious climate investment strategy of any public financial institution anywhere.”

The new energy lending policy, which details five principles that will govern future EIB engagement in the energy sector, will include ensuring grid investment which will be essential for new, intermittent energy sources like wind and solar as well as strengthening cross-border interconnections.

The policy will also enable energy decarbonisation through increased support for low or zero carbon technology, aiming to meet a 32% renewable energy share throughout the EU by 2030.

Emma Navarro, EIB Vice-President in charge of climate action and environment, said: “To meet the Paris climate goals we urgently need to raise our level of ambition and this is precisely what we have done today. Two weeks before the United Nations climate change conference in Madrid, these decisions send an important signal to the world.”

Read the full press release here.