EIB President Werner Hoyer Urges Equitable Climate Action at UNGA

EIB President Werner Hoyer Urges Equitable Climate Action at UNGA

(IN BRIEF) At the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA), EIB President Werner Hoyer emphasized the importance of ambitious climate action and global development partnerships. Speaking at the Climate Ambition Summit, President Hoyer highlighted the economic potential of decarbonization and called for cooperation, stressing that climate action should not resemble colonialism. Additionally, he addressed the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development, where he outlined the EIB’s commitment to the Bridgetown Initiative and announced measures to support vulnerable countries in climate emergencies.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 22-Sep-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — EIB President Werner Hoyer has been participating in UNGA this week alongside senior representatives of the EU Bank, which is owned by the 27 members of the European Union. President Hoyer was joining global leaders to address the climate emergency and ways to accelerate the 2030 Global Agenda for Sustainable Development through innovative investment.

Speaking at Climate Ambition Summit convened by the UN Secretary General António Guterres, in the wake of calls for urgent efforts to step up on global climate action, President Hoyer said: “Ambitious climate action is the great development accelerator for the years ahead: clean energy is now way cheaper, faster to deploy, and more reliable. Renewables are – for many countries – the only road to energy independence, and in most cases already today, the most efficient option.”

He added, “Decarbonisation creates jobs. In a development context, decarbonisation is not de-industrialisation, rather the opposite. And ambitious climate action offers vast investment opportunities.”

But as the debate on how to power the green transition grows more acute, President Hoyer warned, “It cannot be a one-way street. Climate action cannot become Colonialism 2.0. As Europeans, we cannot just leverage on the South’s resources to produce green hydrogen – or mining for the critical raw materials that we need for batteries and electrification. We need eye-level cooperation to find investment opportunities together – and we need to be honest about this from the start.”

President Hoyer also delivered a keynote address at the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development which brought together heads of government, private sector representatives, civil society, as well as public Multilateral Development Banks.

He said, “We are reminded that we must give hope to the most vulnerable. Not based on false promises, but on concrete support, on solidarity, and on true partnership. Let’s turn reluctance into action. We know there are cracks in the multilateral system. Let’s not paper over these. Let’s address them.”

In his speech he explained how the EIB, through its new development arm EIB Global, is responding to the Bridgetown Initiative championed by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and UN Secretary General Guterres. He highlighted the extension of maturities for sovereign loans (for up to 30 years) and grace periods; and increasing technical assistance, so projects can deliver greater impact. He also announced that the EIB is launching pilot clauses to defer debt service in case of climate emergencies and natural disasters in vulnerable countries.

President Hoyer also highlighted the agreement signed this week in New York with five UN institutions – UNDP, WHO, IOM, FAO, UNOPS, soon to be joined by UNICEF – as an example of impactful partnerships that will help get projects off the ground in some of the most challenging parts of the world.

You can read the FULL speeches here:

• President Hoyer’s keynote address at the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development (eib.org)
• President Hoyer at the Climate Ambition Summit (eib.org)

The EIB delegation has been participating in a number of events in the context of the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA).

Background information

• In 2019, the EIB’s updated Energy Lending Policy was adopted to end financing to any unabated fossil fuels energy projects, including natural gas, the first MDB to do so.
• In 2021 the EIB became the first MDB to align our financial activities with the Paris Agreement
• Through its Climate Bank Roadmap the EIB aims  to support €1 trillion of investment in climate action and environmental sustainability through the critical decade, 2021-2030.
• With a commitment to increase investment in climate action and environmental sustainability to more than 50% of the EIB’s annual lending by 2025 – last year that was exceeded with 58.5 %

EIB Global is the EIB Group’s specialised arm dedicated to increasing the impact of international partnerships and development finance.  EIB Global is designed to foster strong, focused partnership within Team Europe, alongside fellow development finance institutions, and civil society. EIB Global brings the Group closer to local people, companies and institutions through our offices across the world.

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Shirin Wheeler
s.wheeler@eib.org
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SOURCE: European Investment Bank