EBRD poured €4.1 billion into green financing in 2017

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development drastically increased its climate financing last year, with the €4.1 billion invested in the green economy representing 43% of the bank’s entire activity last year.

The EBRD's financial backing in Egypt has accelerated the nation's solar ambitions.

Image: Complete Energy Solutions

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Climate funding from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) soared to €4.1 billion ($5.02 billion) in 2017 as the bank steered 43% of all its financing activity towards the green economy.

This means that the EBRD has hit its climate funding target three years early, having pledged in 2015 at the COP21 summit in Paris to devote 40% of its financing to green investment by 2020.

Last year’s record levels of green financing built upon 2016’s €2.8 billion investment in clean and renewable energies, and marked the fourth straight year in which the EBRD has increased such levels of investment.

Some of the most notable projects to receive EBRD backing in 2017 include a $28.5 million loan to help support the construction of the 50 MW Benban solar farm in Egypt. This investment is part of a wider plan by the EBRD to support the installation of 1.4 GW of solar in the country.

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The banks last year pledged to boost its financial support for cities tackling the impacts of climate change, and has earmarked a pot of $100 million to invest in the world’s largest green bond fund.

New regions that received EBRD green financing in 2017 include Lebanon, Uzbekistan and Gaza.

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