1 Nov 2012

Nordic Council proposes joint efforts to finance climate initiatives

The Nordic Council, at its 64th summit in Helsinki, has proposed allocating more money to joint measures in the Nordic countries and abroad.

The Nordic Council proposes strengthening the NIB’s lending power to climate and energy projects in general, and injecting more capital into the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) to fund Nordic climate initiatives in developing countries. The council also believes that the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) is ready to invest more in projects with a greater focus on innovation.

Speaking at the plenary, Anders Eriksson, member of the Nordic Council’s Environment Committee, emphasised that NIB’s high credit rating and opportunity to reach out to SMEs through intermediaries would facilitate the efforts to mitigate climate changes.

In conjunction with the summit, NIB, NEFCO and the NDF have issued a statement:

“The Nordic finance institutions in the environment and climate fields lead the way for Nordic climate financing, and joint Nordic climate expertise has a broader geographic scope that the individual countries. In 2011, EUR 1,340 million were channelled from our three institutions to a number of different climate related projects. The amount shows that Nordic cooperation enables synergy effects and a greater use of joint expertise.”