EIB to allocate 30 billion euros for climate change by 2030

The EIB Group is embarking on the implementation of the second phase of the Climate Bank Action Plan, furthering its role as one of the key financiers of the green industrial revolution and energy security, announced the financial institution, which plans to double its allocations for climate change adaptation to 30 billion euros by 2030.

Building on the “great success” achieved since the plan’s implementation began in 2020, its second phase focuses on the priorities set by the EIB Group for the end of this decade and also foresees significant simplification of its procedures to accelerate green investments, as highlighted in the announcement from the European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU’s credit institution directly owned by member states.

The EIB’s Management Board has given the “green light” for the second phase of the action plan, which will rest on three main pillars.

The first relates to placing even greater emphasis on competitiveness, security, and lower energy prices for businesses and households by providing them with affordable and locally produced clean energy, while also promoting innovative solutions and strengthening Europe’s role as a technological leader.

– In the upcoming period, the EIB Group will intensify efforts to enhance Europe’s competitiveness by supporting clean technologies, strengthening supply chains, helping companies reduce energy costs, and improving energy security, while offering specialized products such as dedicated financing for power purchase agreements – they state.

EIB to significantly enhance technical assistance

For this year alone, the EIB notes, it has projected a record 11 billion euros in new allocations for electricity networks, having already mobilized 40 percent of total European investments in that sector last year, with the aim of raising that figure to an even higher level this year.

Thanks to a new initiative worth around 17 billion euros, they remind, more than 350,000 European small and medium-sized enterprises will be able to invest more easily in energy savings, while sustainable supply will be ensured for wind farm and electricity network producers. The TechEU program – the largest European initiative for financing innovation – is designed to mobilize 250 billion euros by 2027, with support for innovators in the field of clean energy being among its key priorities, the EIB emphasizes.

The foundation of the second pillar is the doubling of allocations for climate change adaptation to 30 billion euros from 2026 to 2030. As the EIB points out, investments in climate change adaptation are of crucial importance and are also economically prudent, considering that extreme weather events in Europe alone this summer caused short-term economic losses amounting to at least 43 billion euros, and it is estimated that every euro spent on prevention and adaptation saves five to seven euros in future damages and recovery costs.

Increased support, they state, will primarily be directed towards agriculture, hydrological cycle management, businesses, cities, regions, and vulnerable communities, all in close cooperation with the European Commission and national and regional partners, as well as private sector partners. “To support clients in launching projects, the EIB Group will significantly enhance technical assistance, including for the needs of the most vulnerable groups of the global population such as small island developing states, least developed countries, low-income communities, indigenous peoples, women, migrants, youth, and the elderly,” they note.

EIB simplifies its procedures

The emphasis of the third pillar of the second phase is on significantly simplifying procedures, whereby, they say from the EIB, excessive regulation will be removed by relying on self-assessment and existing regulations, reports, benchmarks, regulatory standards, and credit rules, as well as on broader application of effective eligibility verification systems for green financing.

– The EIB Group is simplifying its procedures to accelerate access to green financing and reduce administrative burdens, especially for SMEs. By relying on EU reporting standards, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and expanding the use of digital tools like ‘Green Checker’, i.e., the eligibility verification system for green financing, the EIB Group is speeding up and simplifying access to funds for its clients while reducing bureaucracy – they state.

In conclusion, the EIB emphasizes that since the implementation of the Climate Bank Action Plan began in 2020, it has secured support for investments worth over 560 billion euros, of which about 90 percent is in the European Union.

– We are on the right track to achieve our main goal, which is to support green investments amounting to at least 1 trillion euros during this decade. By implementing the second phase of the action plan, the EIB Group reaffirms its commitment to dedicate more than half of its annual allocations to climate action and environmental sustainability – they stated.