Helping Developing Countries Tackle Climate Change: EIB to Partner Green Climate Fund

The European Investment Bank has been approved as a new partner institution of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) today. The Green Climate Fund was set up in 2010 at the United Nations climate talks to help developing countries tackle the challenge of climate change through finance for clean and efficient energy and other mitigation investments, as well as adaptation measures to support countries and people vulnerable to the effects of global warming.

Today’s approval at the GCF Board meeting in Seoul, South Korea, means the European Investment Bank (EIB) will be able to  to access GCF grants, transferring these vital funds to partner countries and clients, developing climate action projects and supporting the move to low carbon and climate resilient economies. The involvement of the EIB will benefit climate action projects by combining the EIB’s own innovative financing with GCF funds, as well ascatalysing other private sector and public funds – all of which is key to putting the Paris Agreement into action, to ensure sustainable development and keep the global temperature increase well below 2 degrees C.

The European Investment Bank, which is the policy-driven European Union bank, is a pioneer in climate finance and its biggest provider worldwide. In the last 5 years it made around EUR 100 billion available for climate action both in Europe and outside it.  The EIB Climate Strategy, launched in September 2015, commits the Bank to a greater focus on the impact of projects as well as more support for adaptation measures in climate vulnerable countries.  EIB has also pledged to step up its climate financing in developing countries to 35% by 2020. 

EIB Vice President Jonathan Taylor, responsible for Climate Action and Energy Lending, said, “We all know climate finance is the critical issue in fighting climate change and putting the deal agreed in Paris into practice.  Today’s accreditation gives us an important tool in mobilising that money in developing countries where the EIB has committed to increase its lending for climate action to 35% by 2020. We look forward to working alongside the Green Climate Fund to raise finance to tackle emissions, support cleaner and more efficient energy and help the most vulnerable nations and communities to adapt to the effects of climate change. As the world leader in climate finance, the EIB has much to offer both in expertise and in innovative approaches to financing climate action.”

Increasing climate finance and attracting more investment from the private sector is an essential part of the new international climate agreement reached at the UNFCCC COP21 in Paris last December. In April, leaders of the world’s Multilateral Development Banks, including the EIB will gather for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring meeting in Washington DC to assess progress since then and agree further concrete steps to translate the agreement into action on the ground.