Draft Climate Bank Roadmap 2021–2025

On 6 November 2020, the European Investment Bank published the draft Climate Bank Roadmap 2021–2025.

In November 2019 and following the political ambitions of the European Green Deal, the EIB Board of Directors decided to increase the level of climate and environment commitment for the EIB Group, transforming it from being 'an EU Bank supporting climate' into 'The EU Climate Bank'. The  Climate Bank Roadmap sets out how the EIB Group intends to align the financing activities with the principles and goals of the Paris Agreement and help unlock €1tn of investments dedicated to climate action and environmental sustainability by 2030.

ERA has contributed to the stakeholder engagement on the EIB Group Climate Bank Roadmap in July 2020, outlining the different short term and long-term solution the aviation sector has to decarbonise: SAF, market-based measures, technology and ATM improvements. However, in light of COVID-19, more support is needed in order for aviation to recover in line with the European Green Deal.

When referring to aviation, in the report it is stated that:

"There remains a lack of clarity on the pathway to decarbonisation for the aviation sector. The EIB Group will therefore focus on improving existing airport capacity including safety, security, rationalisation, resilience and decarbonisation investment. Support will be withdrawn from airport capacity expansion and conventionally‐fuelled aircraft ."(p. viii, 38).

The Bank will rather focus investments on improving the efficiency and environmental footprint of existing airport capacity. When it comes to research and development, the Bank will withdraw support from activities that are no longer in line with this new framework, including technologies like the internal combustion engine and fossil-fuelled propulsion for planes (p. ix, 48). However, it will support the longer-term R&D of alternative fuels for the sector – this includes disruptive technologies and alternative fuels (p. 16) - more to come in the next revision of the EIB’s Transport Lending Policy.

The EIB has also published the draft stakeholder engagement report and the EIB Climate Strategy.

These drafts will be reviewed by the EIB’s Board of Directors on 11 November 2020. The final, adopted version will be published on the EIB’s website.