News

European Investment Bank adopts new Climate Strategy

Publish date: October 12, 2015

On 22 September 2015, the European Investment Bank (EIB) adopted its newest climate strategy titled “Mobilising finance for the transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy.” The Climate Strategy aims at laying the grounds for the EIB’s future direction and developments of the Bank’s contribution to combating climate action.

The purpose of the EIB is to assist EU Member States in delivering climate objectives and take action against to protect future future generations from the adverse consequences of climate change – consequences which are already being felt. In doing so, the EIB recognises that one of the key challenges in the fight against climate change is to make the investments that are needed for a transition to a low-carbon society.

In reaction to the publication of the EIB’s Climate Strategy, Bellona Europa Director, Jonas Helseth, stated that: “By publishing this strategy the EIB is sending an important signal to those seeking investment: your project must fit in a low-carbon society. Still, it’s difficult to find much novelty in this strategy, it comes across more like a summary of previous decisions. We therefore look forward to seeing the EIB translate this into tangible outcomes.”

This new Climate Strategy outlines the main strategies for how climate finance is to be mobilised, including “reinforcing the impact of EIB climate financing, increasing resilience to climate change, and further integrating climate change considerations across all of the Bank’s standards, methods and processes.”

The strategy commits a minimum of 25 per cent of all its lending to climate-related projects. This however, is for all practical reasons the same as before, with a similar target reportedly set in 2010 and a 30 per cent climate-related lending share already achieved.

The strategy states that “as the EU bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB), has made climate action one of its top priorities and developed a leading position among international finance institutions in this area,” which will be essential when assisting the EU in its transition to a low-carbon economy.

More News

All news

6th meeting of the Carbon Removal Expert Group summary and feedback 

The Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) has been formally approved by the Council on the 19th of November 2024 and entered into force on the 9th of December 2024, providing an official mandate for the Commission to develop methodologies on carbon farming and carbon removals. However, the technical documents and specifications are still being drafted and revised for input from the Carbon Removals Expert Group (CREG), of which Bellona is a member. 

Photo: Christening of Northern Lights’ first CO₂ carrier in Stavanger in 2025, by Olav Øye

A great leap towards a scaled European market for CCS: Northern Lights expands storage capacity, will store CO₂ from Stockholm  

Europe’s only multi-source, injection-ready CO₂ storage site will more than triple its capacity by 2028. The decision follows an agreement with Stockholm Exergi to transport and store up to 800 – 900 kilotonnes of CO₂ per year. “This decision is years in the making, and the culmination of decades of hard work from many, Bellona included” says Bellona Europa Director Jonas Helseth.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get our latest news

Stay informed