Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Ambroise Fayolle revealed on Wednesday that the share of the bank’s investment that went to climate and environmental action projects rose to 51% in 2021.
“The Bank is transforming faster than anyone could have expected to meet our climate commitments,” he added.
During his speech before the 5th High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on Climate Finance organised by the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP27) that is being held in Sharm El-Sheikh till 18 November, Fayolle mentioned that in 2021, the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) provided $82bn for climate action globally, out of which $51bn was for climate finance in low- and middle-income countries.
“Over $19bn were provided for adaptation, out of which almost $18bn (or 92%) were committed to low- and middle-income economies. The amount of global private finance mobilised in 2021 stands at $41bn,” he said.
Fayolle further added that MDBs have a key role to play, stressing that working in partnership is the only solution.
The EIB is chairing the group of multilateral development bank heads this year.
“We are supporting clients so that they better understand climate risks and build resilient, low-carbon, and inclusive infrastructure, cities, and businesses. We are helping countries make the most of the economic opportunities this transition brings. And we are increasingly integrating our efforts to address the climate crisis with a growing focus on nature and biodiversity loss.”
According to Fayolle, the EIB is transforming itself into the climate bank of the EU to be one of the world’s largest climate financiers.
“We pioneered the green bonds market 15 years ago and have adopted ambitious climate targets since 2010,” he noted.
The bank also announced ambitious climate and environmental sustainability targets that include increasing EIB investment in climate action and environmental sustainability to more than 50% of annual lending by 2025, supporting €1 trillion of green finance in this decade and aligning all new activities with the Paris Agreement.
“As part of our new Adaptation Plan that was launched at the COP26 in Glasgow, we committed to triple our financing dedicated to adaptation by 2025,” he concluded.
