Released July 21, 2021 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--One of Europe's leading financial lending institutions, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), is to stop investing in upstream oil and gas projects in the coming year.
The group, which invests in a wide range of mainly European infrastructure and energy projects to the tune of more than 11.4 billion euro (US$13.4 billion) this year, said that from the end of 2022 it will align all its activities with the goals of the Paris Agreement, "aiming to accelerate decarbonisation across its regions, supporting them to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century." To date, it has invested in more than 400 energy projects with a total investment value of 17.4 billion euro (US$20 billion). Today, it is supporting 257 projects worth 9.4 billion euro (US$10.6 billion).
"We will no longer invest in upstream oil and gas projects," said EBRD Managing Director Harry Boyd-Carpenter, speaking to Reuters. "However we will continue to finance select projects in the midstream and downstream sectors but only where those projects are aligned with, and significantly contribute to, the goals of the Paris Agreement."
On announcing the change, EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso explained: "Holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C is a global imperative to safeguard our planet and protect ourselves from climate-related risks. With today's commitment the EBRD will be at the forefront among multilateral institutions to ensure that our work is directed to helping countries achieve net zero by the middle of the century. By way of its multilateral shareholding and private sector focus, the EBRD will help its countries of operations manage the political and economic challenges related to such an unprecedented transition. I truly welcome the push from all our shareholders to accelerate on this shared agenda."
The EBRD, which receives most of its investment money from the European Union (EU), is one of a growing number of major investment institutions ramping up so-called "green financing" and moving away from fossil-fuel investments. At the end of 2019, Industrial Info reported that the EU's lending arm, the European Investment Bank (EIB), was going to stop investing in fossil fuel energy projects from the end of 2021. Since 2013, the EIB has supplied 13.4 billion euro (US$14.9 billion) in funding for fossil fuel projects with 2 billion euro (US$2.2 billion) in investment alone in 2019. For additional information, see November 27, 2019, article - European Investment Bank Drops Fossil Fuel Funding. Also that year, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, Norway's Government Pension Fund Global, which manages US$1 trillion of Norway's assets, was given the green light for the largest fossil fuel divestment to date by dropping more than US$13 billion of investments.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
The group, which invests in a wide range of mainly European infrastructure and energy projects to the tune of more than 11.4 billion euro (US$13.4 billion) this year, said that from the end of 2022 it will align all its activities with the goals of the Paris Agreement, "aiming to accelerate decarbonisation across its regions, supporting them to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century." To date, it has invested in more than 400 energy projects with a total investment value of 17.4 billion euro (US$20 billion). Today, it is supporting 257 projects worth 9.4 billion euro (US$10.6 billion).
"We will no longer invest in upstream oil and gas projects," said EBRD Managing Director Harry Boyd-Carpenter, speaking to Reuters. "However we will continue to finance select projects in the midstream and downstream sectors but only where those projects are aligned with, and significantly contribute to, the goals of the Paris Agreement."
On announcing the change, EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso explained: "Holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C is a global imperative to safeguard our planet and protect ourselves from climate-related risks. With today's commitment the EBRD will be at the forefront among multilateral institutions to ensure that our work is directed to helping countries achieve net zero by the middle of the century. By way of its multilateral shareholding and private sector focus, the EBRD will help its countries of operations manage the political and economic challenges related to such an unprecedented transition. I truly welcome the push from all our shareholders to accelerate on this shared agenda."
The EBRD, which receives most of its investment money from the European Union (EU), is one of a growing number of major investment institutions ramping up so-called "green financing" and moving away from fossil-fuel investments. At the end of 2019, Industrial Info reported that the EU's lending arm, the European Investment Bank (EIB), was going to stop investing in fossil fuel energy projects from the end of 2021. Since 2013, the EIB has supplied 13.4 billion euro (US$14.9 billion) in funding for fossil fuel projects with 2 billion euro (US$2.2 billion) in investment alone in 2019. For additional information, see November 27, 2019, article - European Investment Bank Drops Fossil Fuel Funding. Also that year, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, Norway's Government Pension Fund Global, which manages US$1 trillion of Norway's assets, was given the green light for the largest fossil fuel divestment to date by dropping more than US$13 billion of investments.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
