Europe must become a global climate power
Jan 27,2021 - Last updated at Jan 27,2021
By Josep Borrell and Werner Hoyer
BRUSSELS The world is eagerly watching the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and looking forward to a return to normalcy after a year of lockdowns. But there will never be a vaccine for the other looming threat to humanity: climate change.
Apocalyptic images of forest fires in California and devastating floods in Bangladesh are harbingers of what awaits us if we fail to address the climate emergency. Without drastic action, such catastrophes will rage more frequently and ever more destructively. Moreover, climate change is one of the biggest geopolitical challenges we face. As a conflict multiplier, it fuels sociopolitical instability, creates migratory pressures, aggravates global injustices and jeopardises human rights and peace, especially in fragile states.
In the year of the worst global health and economic crisis for generations, the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group rapidly redirected its business to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences on all fronts. It increased financing volumes to €76.8 billion, exceeding its own targets. A third of these funds, €25.5 billion, went into the immediate crisis response that started with a first package in March. Most of it went to small and medium-sized businesses to avoid insolvencies and job losses, especially in countries that did not have the budgetary means for massive national rescue packages.
Reflecting the additional need for assistance caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, EIB Group support for small and medium-sized companies grew by €5 billion to €30.6 billion. In total, more than 425 000 companies profited from financing, sustaining more than 4.2 million jobs. The EU bank achieved this without neglecting its other investment priorities: environmental
Europe Must Become a Global Climate Power by Josep Borrell & Werner Hoyer project-syndicate.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from project-syndicate.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Europe needs a serious departure from past use of fossil fuels in order to meet climate targets, says President of the
“To put it mildly, gas is over,” Hoyer said at a press conference on Wednesday to present the bank’s annual results.
The use of natural gas to transition away from other fossil fuels has been controversial in Europe. The European Commission has said in the past that
But Hoyer said that EU member states that have been “putting all their eggs into the basket” of gas now need support to transition to alternatives.
“Instead of financing assets we will have to write off tomorrow, we must invest in energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable mobility and green innovation,” Hoyer added in a statement. He also called on other financial institutions to take a similar stand against environmentally unsustainable projects.