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The European Union's investment arm said Thursday it will stop funding fossil fuel projects from 2022 as part of a new strategy aimed at fighting climate change, in a decision environmental campaigners hailed as a "significant victory".
The European Investment Bank, the world's largest multilateral lender, had been criticised by climate groups for funding gas projects that potentially threatened the EU's commitment to the Paris climate goals.
But despite gas proving a potential sticking point, the EIB's board of directors—composed of state representatives and the European Commission—approved the new energy policy on Thursday.
"We will stop financing fossil fuels, and we will launch the most ambitious climate investment strategy of any public financial institution anywhere," EIB President Werner Hoyer said in a statement.
The EIB said the new energy plan would also "unlock" one trillion euros ($1.1 trillion) of climate action and environmentally sustainable investment over the next decade.
[...] Nineteen EU member states including France and Germany voted for the new policy, according to Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
But three countries—Poland, Romania and Hungary—voted against, wanting more flexibility for gas funding, as did Estonia, Lithuania, Cyprus and Malta, which abstained.
Austria and Luxembourg also abstained, objecting to nuclear power being eligible for funding under the new policy, Greenpeace and the WWF said.
The European Commission said it supported the new policy, and it voted in favour.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 18 2019, @09:32AM (1 child)
Why is it so hard to think further than you can see outside of your window?
It's not about your fucking truck! This is about the *FUTURE* policy. You know, like 10 or 30 years from now. And this is not about a fucking TRUCK! Will I have to repeat that again??
This is about providing funding for things like COAL POWER PLANTS, or GAS POWER PLANTS, where there are alternatives that could be used TODAY. So instead of providing funding for a COAL POWER PLANT, the bank will now provide funding for things like SOLAR POWER PLANT or WIND POWER PLANT or PUMPED STORAGE instead.
So, stop thinking about "me me me". No one gives a shit about your truck. This is about new, industrial scale capital projects. No one wants to see a COAL POWER PLANT funded today spewing shit into the air 60 YEARS in the future, when we are all dead. That's the purpose of this policy change.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday November 18 2019, @11:19PM
Alternatives that could be used at a higher price and reduced reliability. If ten or twenty years from now, the renewable+storage mix turns out to be superior to the fossil fuel mix, then we'll switch over without any drama. In the meantime, there's no reason to rush the future.