Background
Climate change is a serious concern for Europeans and Europe aims to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. This requires a rapid transformation of the energy sector. The European Green Deal, an ambitious package of measures for a sustainable green transition, shows how Europe can lead the world to climate neutrality.
With its ambitious Energy lending policy (ELP), the EIB has achieved a milestone in the fight against climate change. In 2019, we decided to phase out the financing of unabated fossil fuel energy projects, including natural gas. We are the first international finance institution to end financing for fossil fuel projects and to focus its support on projects that are fully aligned with the Paris Agreement.
A mid-term review report released in May 2023, confirms that the EIB’s Energy Lending Policy remains fully valid.
Our Energy lending policy applies to all EIB financing in the energy sector. This includes:
- operations inside the European Union and around the world,
- both direct EIB investment loans and intermediary financing.
This lending policy is designed to ensure that the Bank’s activities in the energy sector are consistent with and support EU policies. It focuses on areas with the greatest investment needs, areas where our support can add value, or high priority policy areas.
The ELP is an important part of the broader EIB Climate Bank Roadmap, which sets out our ambition to play a leading role in mobilising the finance needed to achieve the temperature objectives in the Paris Agreement.
The EIB focuses its activities on areas where it can provide a high degree of additional value by: