The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group signed a record amount in new financing for renewables, efficiency, storage and grids in 2022, highlighting its commitment to ensure access to affordable energy at a time of extreme uncertainty.
Total EIB financing signed for sustainable energy projects inside the European Union reached an unprecedented €17.06 billion (AU$26 billion), as the bank began rolling out a special package of support for the REPowerEU plan to end dependency on Russian fuel imports.
Overall EIB Group (European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund) financing signed last year was €72.5 billion (AU$112 billion), which is expected to support around €260 billion (AU$403 billion) in investment and create 950,000 jobs by 2026.
Green financing from the EIB increased substantially to 58 per cent of the total financing, meaning that the bank met its commitment to devote at least half of its resources to climate action and environmental sustainability, well ahead of its 2025 target. Overall, the EIB Group is well on track to achieve its objective of supporting €1 trillion (AU$1.5 trillion) in green financing this decade, having already backed €222 billion (AU$343 billion) in investment over the past two years.
EIB President Werner Hoyer said at a time when the United States is rolling out the biggest green subsidy programme in history, it is imperative that Europe keeps up and stays the course, both for the sake of the planet and for safeguarding the competitiveness of the economy.
“The EU bank will do its part to finance home-grown innovation that will lead us to net zero.”
Amid a challenging economic outlook for 2023, the EIF plans to press ahead with the deployment of the multi-thematic InvestEU programme and supplement it with new plans, like the European Tech Champions Initiative, which is expected to be launched in the coming weeks to support home-grown innovation. Crucially, EIF equity investments in green industries will support the REPowerEU plan to eliminate dependence on fossil fuel imports.
“Building on the work already done, the EIF will remain operationally sharp and agile, adapting to a changing world around us, and striving to channel public resources effectively to where they are needed most,” said EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt. “We will continue to support European small businesses while also growing our activity in sustainability-oriented finance solutions such as climate and infrastructure funds.”
