Die EU-Mitgliedstaaten, die Eigentümer der Europäischen Investitionsbank sind, haben heute für eine neue Energiekreditpolitik gestimmt, die die Kreditvergabe für Projekte mit fossilen Brennstoffen erheblich einschränken würde.

(WK-intern) – Im Juli legte die Europäische Investitionsbank (EIB) einen ehrgeizigen Entwurf für eine Kreditvergabepolitik für Energie vor, mit der die Finanzierung der meisten fossilen Brennstoffe einschließlich fossilen Gases bis Ende 2020 auslaufen soll.

EIB: fossil fuel tap almost closed

Today the EU Member States, who are the owners of the European Investment Bank, voted in favour of a new energy lending policy which would considerably limit loans to fossil fuel projects.

In July, the European Investment Bank (EIB) presented an ambitious draft energy lending policy that would phase out most financing of fossil fuels including fossil gas by the end of 2020.

However, since the presentation of the first draft, several Member States including Germany, but also the European Commission, succeeded to introduce more loopholes into the energy lending policy adopted today, which would allow the bank to continue to finance some fossil gas projects still until 2021.*

In reaction to the outcome, Markus Trilling, finance and subsidies policy coordinator at Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe said:

„With today’s decision to greatly limit lending for fossil fuel projects, the EIB is taking a first step to become the EU’s climate bank as promised by the European Commission’s president elect Ursula von der Leyen. This is also a clear call for all EU funds to follow suit and rule out all activities that worsen climate change from funding possibilities.“

„For the EIB to become the EU’s climate bank it will also need to look beyond energy and soon adopt a climate strategy which puts climate neutrality at the heart of all its operations.“

PR: Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe