NIB commits EUR 2bn to abating and adapting to climate change

In three years, NIB has committed EUR 2 billion to projects aimed at promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency and other measures of abating and adapting to climate change.

The Bank’s Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy lending facility, CLEERE, has been fully deployed. Launched in early 2008 with a framework of EUR 1 billion, CLEERE was extended by another EUR 1 billion two years later.

“Initiatives in the areas of renewable energy and have long been favoured by the Bank’s member countries and are a natural part of our mandate, as the Bank is in a position to provide the long-term financing which is needed for this kind of investments,” says Johnny Åkerholm, NIB President and CEO.

Within the CLEERE framework, NIB financed 64 environmental projects, including the launch of the offshore windmill farm Horns Rev II, a solar-grade silicon factory in Norway, the first waste-to-energy power plant in the Baltic countries, and the expansion of the public transport network in Helsinki.

According to Mr Åkerholm, NIB is currently considering a number of new projects aimed at promoting the generation and use of renewable energy, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and dealing with negative impact on the environment.

“The need for such an environmental lending facility is high and NIB will definitely go forward in extending the necessary long-term financing to eligible projects,” concludes Mr Åkerholm.