BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 4. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is extremely committed to its climate financing ambition, Alexandrina Boyanova, Head of the Operational Management and Policy Support Division at the European Investment Bank (EIB), said during the Media Briefing for European Investment Bank - UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh, Trend reports.
“I will take a step back to recall what the three commitments that the European Investment Bank, as the Climate Bank, made in 2019. First of all, to increase the share of our climate action and environmental sustainability lending to 50% in total. Second, all new operations that the EIB finances to be fully Paris-aligned. And the third commitment is to mobilize €1 trillion from the private and from the public sector in the critical decade between 2020 and 2030. That was a big step for us,” she said.
Boyanova pointed out that the EIB has always been a traditional financier of climate.
“But let's say in the 10 years preceding that commitment, we financed more or less 25% into climate action and environmental sustainability. Last year, we achieved close to 60%. In nominal terms, that translates to close to €50 billion of new lending, of which roughly 10% goes outside the EU. The EIB is also one of the largest issuers globally of green bonds. We have issued climate action and sustainability bonds totaling around €100 billion. We have a very important role on the market. Just to recall that also the EIB was the one inventing the green bond concept back in 2007,” she said.
Boyanova noted that EIB is extremely committed to its climate financing ambition.
“It is not only about we do, but what kind of action do we catalyze with everything that we do. It is about private sector participation, but is also about sharing our practice with partnering financial institutions, governments, and with the corporate sector,” she concluded.
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