Today reassurances were made by the head of the European Investment Bank that large scale lending to green development would continue regardless of the absurdities that are happening on the other side of the Atlantic.
EIB President Werner Hoyer stood tall today and told the world that climate change is an important issue and the the EIB would provide 100 billion dollars in loans over the next five years to maintain sustainable development.
President Hoyer pointed out the vital role that Europe plays in combating climate change, and that Europe must assume the role of a leader when it comes to funding next generation sustainable technology.
The EIB lent around 20 billion dollars of its 90 billion dollar budget last year to green causes, and President Hoyer added that the EIB was the single largest lender to climate action in the world.
This badly needed investment comes at a tumultuous time for Europe and the world, and Britain’s exit from the European Union puts the EIB in a precarious position.
Britain owns around 16% of the outstanding shares of the bank, and once they leave, unless regulations are changed, they would no longer be allowed to possess shares of the EIB, whose owners must be a member of the EU.
President Hoyer described the bank as “in limbo” until the definitive terms of Brexit are known, but he did not expect it to affect the ability of the EIB to continue to fund climate action.
He asserted that last year around 7 billion dollars from the EIB went to Britain, that they do not have a sovereign development bank, and that the EIB would miss their participation as much as Britain would miss access to cheap loans from the EIB.
With record high global temperatures in 2016, it is clear that we need to make some changes, and sadly, with the new administration in the United States, it is highly unlikely that much support is going to come from Washington D.C. anytime soon.
