C 99/40
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
1.3.2022
Wednesday 7 July 2021
31.
Notes that the financing provided within the Union in 2019 for transport was higher than in 2018 (EUR 9 325 million against EUR 8 237 million in 2018) and that the contraction of financing for roads and motorways was offset by increases in financing for railways and air transport; stresses the importance of aligning the Transport Lending Policy and the EIB’s transport portfolio with the Climate Bank Roadmap, in particular the decarbonisation of the transport sector by 2050 but also with the Commission’s upcoming strategy for sustainable and smart mobility as a response to the new European Green Deal, with other areas of EU transport policy, while ensuring a just transition and balanced social and territorial development; welcomes the EIB’s commitment not to finance existing airport capacity expansion and port infrastructure dedicated to the transport and storage of fossil fuels; calls for the policy to avoid locking in carbon intensive assets and to support modal shifts towards zero-carbon mobility both for freight and passengers at urban and inter-urban level, such as rail, safe cycling and clean public transport, in particular for underserved communities and localities, and for renewables-based electrification infrastructure;
32.
Welcomes the EIB’s leading role in the Green Bond Market in 2019 by issuing EUR 4,1 billion in Climate Awareness Bonds (CABs) and Sustainability Awareness Bonds (SABs); stresses the importance of transparent and credible documentation and tracking of proceeds underlying CABs and SABs and to ensure consistency with the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy and the upcoming EU Green Bond Standard;
33.
Welcomes the upcoming revision of the EIB’s environmental and social framework and the development of climate, environmental and social risk management tools to assess physical, transition and systemic risks; calls on the EIB to ensure it is in place by the end of 2021; welcomes the EIB’s commitment to adopt the ‘do no significant harm’ criteria from Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (5) as a basis and to set stricter standards whenever justified;
The EIB’s operations outside the EU
34.
Recognises that the most important mandate guiding EIB operations outside the Union is the External Lending Mandate (ELM), under which EIB operations during the period from 2014 to 2020 were backed by a dedicated guarantee fund, with a ceiling of EUR 32,3 billion, providing a legal basis and a guarantee to the EIB against losses under financing operations in 68 eligible countries outside the EU; notes that the Commission proposed that the External Lending Mandate (ELM) would not continue in its present form; notes the creation of the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) guarantee accommodating new EIB mandates;
35.
Welcomes the support of the EIB provided throughout 2019 in the formulation of the Just Transition Mechanism, which helps territories and regions most affected by the transition to a climate-neutral economy, especially those with the least capacity to deal with the cost of the transition; highlights the importance of the EIB for implementing the Mechanism in the next years, ensuring that no regions are left behind;
36.
Notes that the Union development policy will be implemented via the new Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), of which the EIB is a key implementer; expresses concern about the use of EU development funds for de-risking private investment given the lack of evidence as to its capacity to provide additionality and fulfil development objectives, as recently reported in the final review of EFSD as well as opinion of the European Court of Auditors No 7/2020 of 11 September 2020; stresses the need for donors to prioritise grant-based financing as the default option, especially to least developed countries, in order to avoid increasing the debt burden;
(5)
Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 (OJ L 198, 22.6.2020, p. 13).