EU agrees €4bn boost to green projects

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced €4bn of new financing to boost clean energy, transport and clean water projects in 18 countries.

Just a few of the projects the funding will support include sustainable urban transport projects to increase the use of electric buses, trams and metro services in Rotterdam and Marseille, and credit lines to enable firms in Denmark to invest in energy efficiency.

The EIB board also approved funding for the construction and operation of two new wind farms off the French coast, expected to generate nearly 1 gigawatt of energy, and improved energy efficiency for homes in Belarus.

Werner Hoyer, President of the EIB, said: ‘The EIB is Europe’s climate bank, the largest public investor in climate action in the world. A changing and more uncertain climate threatens lives, livelihoods and essential services around the world.

‘I am pleased that the EU Bank [has] agreed to support new projects around the world that will better protect millions of people from future extreme weather events.’

The €4bn pot of EIB funding will also be used to finance projects to protect people and infrastructure from extreme weather events.

One project set to receive funding is the reconstruction of the airport on the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten, which was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017.

The rebuilt airport will be fitted with a new, improved terminal that will be better equipped to handle future hurricanes.

The EIB’s funding will also assist with the construction of new bridges in Haiti able to withstand the region’s tropical storms and earthquakes.

The announcement of the funding came after the EIB – the long-term lending institution of the European Union – held its latest monthly board meeting in Luxembourg last week.

Financing from the European Union has recently helped to deliver energy and transport projects in the South West of England.

Earlier this year the EIB and European Commission awarded Bristol, Devon and Plymouth councils almost €2m to deliver their infrastructure projects.

The €1.9m grant will fund new energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transport and heat networks projects across Bristol, Devon, Plymouth and the wider region over the next three years.

There have been calls for the UK to remain part of the European Investment Bank post-Brexit in order to ensure the continued support of green infrastructure projects.

The UK’s own investment in clean energy fell to its lowest in ten years in 2018, while the UK is set to miss its fourth and fifth Carbon Budgets.