EBRD & Green Economy andSustainability

Nobuko Ichikawa
Senior environmental advisor
The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD)UNIDO-EBRD Tokyo Joint Event (March 17th , 2022)
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1.Scientific Consensus: Earth's Climate
is Warming due to Human Activities

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2. EBRD’s Green Economy Transition
A. Sustainability Mandate; 2019 Environmental & Social
Policy (Performance Requires) : E&S Due Diligence andMonitoring
B. The Green Economy Transition (GET) aims to:• advance to an environmentally sustainable, low-carbon
and climate-resilient economy; and• prevent economies from being locked into carbonintensive, climate-vulnerable and/ or environmentally
damaging pathways.
C. Strategy for a Resilient and Sustainable Future: Increase green
financing to more than 50 % of its annual business volume by2025; alignment with Paris Agreement’s mitigation goals &adaptation and climate-resilient operations; The Taskforce for
Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) Reporting and UN
Principle for Responsible Investment (PRI)
September 2019

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3. A Flagship EBRD Solar Projectin Benban, Egypt• At a site of over 37 km2 in Benhan, the Western Desert, some 650 km south of Cairo;
three years of construction of one of the largest solar parks in the world and the largest inAfrica; completed in Oct. 2019;. Capacity of 1.5 GW, enough to provide renewable energy
to more than 1,000,000 homes.
• The EBRD is the main financier of this park, having supported 16 of the 32 plots; theproject is supported by the Dutch Development Bank (FMO), the Green Climate
Fund (GCF), the EU and donors to the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Multi-Donor
Account (SEMED MDA);the use of innovative bifacial panels on the basis that thegroundbreaking product delivered better value in terms of yield and durability proposedby the Norwegian developer Scatec Solar ASA (because both sides of the panel canproduce power)• Developed by a consortium led by Infinity Solar Energy SAE, an Egyptian company
established in 2014 to engage in developing renewable energy projects in Egypt, Africa
and the Middle East including ib vogt GmbH, a German solar specialist, MMID, theinvestment arm of the Mansour and Maghraby Groups and BPE Partners, one of theleading private equity firms in Egypt. Benban, Africa's largest solar park, completed(ebrd.com)
September 2019

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4. EU Commitment in COP26• The EU claims to be a global leader in climate action, having already cut its greenhousegas emissions by over 30% since 1990, while growing its economy by over 60%; The EU
tapped renewables for 22% of its energy consumption in 2020, beating its 20% target, (theEU statistics office); a reduction of at least 55% in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared with 1990 level;

all new building must be nearly zero energy building since 2020
• With the European Green Deal, which was presented in December 2019, the EUcommitted to reaching climate neutrality by 2050. This objective became legally binding
with the adoption and entry into force of the European Climate Law. EU COVID-19
Recovery Plan with €1.8 trillion (237兆円） for 7 years to build a post Covid-19 Europe forgreener, more digital and more resilient Europe (1/3 for Green Deal)• The Climate Law also sets an intermediate target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55%
by 2030, compared to the 1990 levels (EU’s NDC to the UNFCCC under the Paris Agreement)

Japan aims to be carbon neutral by 2050 and 42% reduction from 2010 to 2030 ; anambitious pledge though it plans to build more than a dozen new coal-burning power plants in the coming years
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5. EU Taxonomy & Disclosure Requirements•In July 2020, the EU adopted the Regulation on the establishment of aframework to facilitate sustainable investment(widely known as the Taxonomy
Regulation. The Regulation provides a framework and allows for theprogressive development of an EU-Wide classification system –or taxonomy –fordefining environmentally sustainable activities. It aims at providing more clarity
for investors and companies regarding “green”. In June 2021, the EU adopted aEuropean Climate Law, establishing the aim of reaching net zero greenhousegas emissions (GHG) in the EU by 2050. The law sets an intermediate target ofreducing GHG by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

•The Taxonomy Regulation sets disclosure obligations for financial market
participants and large companies which apply to all relevant underlying assets
and activities regardless of their locations. Therefore it will have direct
application (i.e. disclosure requirements) and other potential influence (i.e.
setting principles and classification systems) outside the EU, e.g. Moroccojoined the EU’s International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF) which
encourages dialogue (proposal for an EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting
Directive (CSRD), revising the Non Final Reporting Directive or , NFRD)•Ursula von de Leyen

EC President

EU proposal on Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Feb 2022
September 2019

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6. COP-26 Outcomes (Glasgow, Nov. 2021)
Agreed 2030 Emissions Cuts and a Process that Could Keep the 1.5 Degrees C Goal ( reachingnet zero CO2 emissions by 2050 and reducing global emissions by approximately 50 percent in 2030, comparedwith 2010 levels) 151 countries had submitted new climate plans (known as Nationally Determined
Contributions, (NDCs) to slash their emissions by 2030 but not enough and could lead to 2.5 degree by 2050;
and 2022 COP27 in Egypt will follow• US & China Collaboration (but no details)• More than 100 countries singed for 30% methane reduction (but not China & Australia)• 30 countries and institutions now committing to halt international finance for fossil fuels. (but 40 countries
rejected coal phase out: “Phase Down”)• India pleaded 2070 Net zero (but not 2050)• US$100 billion fund annually for developing countries’ renewal energy by 2025 (How about “loss & damage”)• End deforestation by 2030 including in Brazil• Phase out “ineffective” gas& oil subsides (but elusive “ineffective”)
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7. Global Cost of Climate Change• Climate Change Could Cut World Economy by $23 Trillion in 2050, as cropyields fall, disease spreads and rising seas consume coastal cities. The effects of climatechange can be expected to shave 11 percent to 14 percent off global economic output by
2050 compared with growth levels without climate change; Global temperatures are likely toincrease as much 2.6 degrees by 2050 based on current trajectories, Even if the increase in global
temperature is held to 2 C, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand would each see economic
growth 20 percent below what they could otherwise expect by 2050 (Swiss Re)• A new report by Christian Aid, Counting the cost 2021: a year of climate breakdown identifies 15 of themost destructive climate disasters of the year; the ten costliest weather disasters of 2021 exceeded $170
billion in total damage. Among them is Hurricane Ida which struck the US in August costing $65 billion andkilling 95 people. July floods in Europe cost $43 billion and killed 240 while floods in China’s Henan
province caused $17.5 billion of destruction, killed 320 and displaced over a million.

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