Germany leads sabotage of EU bank’s climate efforts
Posted on October, 15 2019
The EIB Board - including the EU Commission - pushed back decision to end fossil fuel funding
Brussels, Belgium - 15 October 2019 In a blow to the climate and the EU’s green credentials, the European Investment Bank’s Board failed a second time to agree to end funding for coal, oil and gas today, instead pushing the decision back to 14 November.
The postponement follows weeks of wrangling between Member States. France supports a phase-out of fossil fuel funding as originally proposed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in July, while the EU Commission, Germany and Eastern European countries want gas projects still to be eligible for EIB support.
Sébastien Godinot, Economist at WWF’s European Policy Office said:
"We are appalled by the backward-looking stance of Germany, the EU Commission and others. They are sabotaging the EIB’s commitment to align with the Paris Agreement. The EIB has therefore missed an opportunity to begin morphing into the EU ‘Climate Bank’, and set a global benchmark by ending its support for fossil fuels. We urge all Member States and the Commission to support this on 14 November.”
Contact:
Sébastien Godinot
Economist, WWF European Policy Office
+32 489 46 13 14
sgodinot@wwf.eu
Sarah Azau
Media Manager, WWF European Policy Office
+32 473 57 31 37
sazau@wwf.eu
Mavropigi coal power plant, Greece
© Europe Beyond Coal
Mavropigi coal power plant, Greece
© Europe Beyond Coal