• EIB to stop funding fossil fuel projects after 2021, except for ‘new technologies’ with gas

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      Patrick Lavery

      Combustion Industry News Editor


After the European Investment Bank postponed its decision on whether or not to continue to fund fossil fuel-related projects a month ago, this month it has acted to stop certain such funding past 2021. As the BBC reports, this will amount to a reduction of around €2 billion (US$2.2 billion) per year from the typical investment on the part of the EIB, as the bank has funded €13.4 billion (US$14.8 billion) since 2013 on fossil fuel-related projects. The policy does not constitute a ban on fossil fuels altogether, however – gas projects involving technologies such as carbon capture and storage, combined heat and power generation, or co-firing renewable gases with natural gas will still be open to funding. This appears a sensible compromise for the bank, pointing towards a very low-carbon future (for its projects) if not a zero-carbon one. A further compromise that allowed the policy to be adopted was that the policy will be in force from 2022, rather than 2021 as first proposed. Andrew McDowell, the EIB’s vice-president responsible for energy, said that the bank wants to demonstrate a way in which such organisations can operate in accordance with the Paris Agreement on climate change.