Two initiatives supported by the EIB have been praised at the One Planet Summit in Paris as potentially transformative in terms of the impact they could have in tackling climate change and helping cities and vulnerable communities to finance climate action.

Two initiatives supported by the European Investment Bank (EIB) have been praised at the One Planet Summit in Paris as potentially transformative in terms of the impact they could have in tackling climate change and helping cities and vulnerable communities to finance climate action.

The projects have been highlighted as models of action and partnership capable of turning the ambition of the Paris Agreement into reality. One - an evolving partnership with the Global Covenant of Mayors, part of the new global Urbis initiative - aims to develop an innovative advisory and financing facility focused on fostering climate action investments in cities. The other is a new fund - the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund (LDNF) - where the EIB will be a cornerstone investor. The LDNF initiative, the first of its kind, pairs private and public capital to finance sustainable land management and restoration all over the world. Restoring degraded land is a vital however as yet an underestimated opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help communities to adapt to climate change.

Speaking from Paris, EIB Vice-President Jonathan Taylor said, “We are immensely proud that two of the initiatives we are supporting have been highlighted here in Paris as transformative in the context of international efforts to make the Paris Agreement a reality. These two ambitious and ground-breaking initiatives to support cities’ climate action efforts and to promote sustainable land use through projects around the world reflect the EU Bank’s strong belief that it is only through building new and concrete partnerships that we will get the job done. The challenge before us is immense and pooling expertise and experience as we are doing is the way we must move forward.”

VP Taylor added, “The EIB has provided finance for sustainable urban infrastructure both directly and through intermediated lending to well over 1000 cities and towns worldwide. In the last six years alone, lending dedicated to climate action - mitigation and adaptation - under EIB’s urban financing amounts to about EUR 35 billion. Given the Bank’s global reach and overall lending volumes, cooperation with the Global Covenant of Mayors has a clear potential to be transformative.”

The EIB is the world's leader in climate finance, with a projected USD 100 billion of climate-related investment in the next five years. With its triple A rating, the EIB has also a valuable multiplier effect in mobilising private capital.

More on the proposed EIB-GCoM partnership

On 28 November 2017, a new advisory and investment platform for cities in Europe called Urbis was launched by the EIB and the European Commission. Currently, however, there is an underserved need for a global “one-stop shop” providing investment and advisory support for climate action in cities. To fill this gap, and based on the example of Urbis, the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCOM) and the European Investment Bank are forging a partnership that aims to develop a global advisory and financing facility focused on fostering Climate Action investments in cities and addressing market failures.

The new facility would meet this global unserved need while complementing already existing facilities/initiatives and standard lending activity of the Bank. One key objective would be to facilitate access to grants and concessional finance that can be used flexibly across geographical regions, and which can support all relevant steps from advisory services for upstream planning, investment programming and project preparation, all the way to the provision of guarantees and seed financing aimed at mobilising private finance. 

GCOM press release

More on the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund initiative: The LDNF is a EUR 300m layered risk fund, sponsored by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and managed by sustainable investment firm Mirova to support sustainable land use practices globally. The EIB has worked with the fund for more than two years to help develop the concept of the fund. Joining the EIB as a cornerstone investor is the French Development Agency AFD.

http://www.mirova.com/en-UK/p/news/News/LDN-Fund-initiative-hailed-at-One-Planet-Summit

Background information:

The European Investment Bank is active in around 160 countries. It is the Bank of the European Union, owned by its 28 member states and is the world’s largest financier of climate-related investment. A quarter of all EIB financing supports climate action and the EIB is committed to providing USD 100 billion for climate-related investment in the five years up to 2020. The EIB's climate strategy also commits to dedicating 35% of financing in developing countries to climate action by 2020. 

Find out more about the EIB at the One Planet summit:

YouTube video of President Macron hailing new EIB backed initiatives as global models at One planet summit in Paris

http://www.eib.org/infocentre/events/all/eib-at-one-planet-summit

More on the EIB and climate action:

The EIB and climate action

MDBs initiative for climate action

Urbis initiative

Green Bonds

http://www.eib.org/infocentre/blog/all/podcast-green-bonds

http://www.eib.org/infocentre/blog/all/green-bonds-turn-gold

http://www.eib.org/investor_relations/cab/ten-years-of-green-bonds