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About the European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank is the world’s biggest multilateral lender. The only bank owned by and representing the interests of the EU countries, the EIB finances Europe’s economic growth. Over six decades the Bank has backed start-ups like Skype and massive schemes like the Øresund Bridge linking Sweden and Denmark. Headquartered in Luxembourg, the EIB Group includes the European Investment Fund, a specialist financer of small and medium-sized enterprises.
EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK
THE GREEN THREAD
2019ACTIVITY REPORT
HOW TO READ THE REPORT - THE GREEN THREAD
Wherever you are, there you will find the weather. So too with this report, because climate is THE GREEN THREAD that runs through the European Investment Bank’s work in 2019, specifically ACTION TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE. Climate action has long been a significant factor in the Bank’s work. In 2019, we responded to the climate and environment emergency with NEW AMBITIONS FOR CLIMATE and ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT over the coming decade and a NEW ENERGY LENDING POLICY.
To keep global warming to the 1.5° Celsius rise targeted by the Paris Agreement, carbon emissions must be under 580 gigatonnes. For all of us. Forever. At the present rate, we’ll hit that figure by 2032. But, with increased investment, it’s not inevitable. The investment need is, however, enormous. In Europe, estimated investment in energy systems, for example, will need to double in the next decade to €400 billion.
That’s where the European Investment Bank is key. A public bank, the EU bank invests in everything from long-term infrastructure to innovative battery projects, and it STEPS INTO SECTORS WHERE INVESTMENT IS TOO SLOW, such as home energy-efficiency renovations. In a new feature of this report, key experts at the European Investment Bank lay out what they believe the climate crisis means for us, what NEW TYPES OF FINANCING we’ll be developing to reach our targets, and what kinds of PROJECTS WE’LL BE BACKING.
The projects in this report cover every area of economic development – infrastructure, innovation, small and medium-sized enterprises. To illustrate the depth of our current climate action and our commitment to future green investment, we have written about each of these areas, with a focus on climate and environment. CLIMATE INFRASTRUCTURE, GREEN INNOVATION, AND CLIMATE ACTION FOR SMES. Globally. For example, you’ll read about a Romanian artificial intelligence device to cut food waste in the same story as a project that boosts yields for Peruvian coffee farmers. Because we work across the globe to find SOLUTIONS FOR THE CRISIS that threatens us all, wherever we are.
This report tells stories of ingenuity and commitment, job creation and prosperity. Woven together with THE GREEN THREAD OF SUSTAINABLE EIB INVESTMENT, they illustrate the opportunity climate and environmental action presents for all of us to safeguard our world for future generations and to build a prosperous, clean and green economy.
CONTENTS
OUR CLIMATE ROADMAP AND ENERGY LENDING POLICY: >€1 TRILLION FOR <1.5°C
INNOVATIVE ENERGY GENERATION: COLD FUSION? YOU’RE GETTING WARMER
DIGITAL FUTURE: 5G FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
FUTURE MOBILITY: AN ELECTRIFYING RACE
CLIMATE ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPMENT: GET USED TO IT
URBAN CLIMATE ADAPTATION IN THE EU: CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE CITY
HEALTH AND CLIMATE: A PRESCRIPTION FOR CLIMATE ACTION
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE KITCHEN: AN APPETITE FOR CLIMATE ACTION
AGRICULTURE AND CLIMATE: GOOD BACTERIA AND STRETCHY MOZZARELL
SOCIAL HOUSING: SHELTER FOR THE CLIMATE
JUST TRANSITION: COHESIVE AND CREATIVE
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK’S OPERATIONAL PLAN FOR 2020
FOREWORD BY THE PRESIDENT
THE BANK THAT GETS THINGS DONE
“ We promise to dedicate 50% of our financing to climate action and environmental sustainability as of 2025. Everything we do will be fully aligned with the Paris Agreement. ”
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