EU CNC MISSION CITIES LENDING ENVELOPE

This lending envelope aims to co-finance sub-operations supporting the Action Plans and Investment Plans of EU Cities labelled under the EU Mission - Climate Neutral and Smart City. These EU Mission Cities are striving to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. They are prioritizing their investments on sustainable urban renewal and regeneration, sustainable mobility and energy efficiency, among other sectors.

This lending envelope aims to co-finance multi-sector sub-projects or sub-operations supporting the Action Plans and Investment Plans of Cities under the EU Mission - Climate Neutral and Smart City. The objective of the CNC Mission is to support 100 EU Cities ("the Mission Cities"), and 12 cities in associated countries, to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. Some of these Mission Cities also form part of the EU Mission for Climate Adaptation, supporting cities to become resilient to climate change by 2030. The sub-operations will target multi-sector investments mainly in Energy Efficiency (upgrades in buildings, public lighting, etc.), Renewable Energy, Sustainable Mobility, and Urban Renewal and Regeneration. The sub-operations may also comprise investments in other sectors which are priority for the city, in particular addressing Social Infrastructure (schools, housing, health facilities, etc.), Nature Based Solutions, Circular Economy (waste management, etc.) and Energy Transition. Measures will also include climate adaptation and mitigation measures. The project will be located in the EU Mission Cities labelled under the CNC Mission.

Compliance with the relevant EU Directives (EU EIA Directive 2011/92/EU as amended by Directive 2014/52/EY, EU SEA Directive 2001/42/EC, Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC, EU Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC and EU Birds Directive 2009/147/EC) will be verified during appraisal. An environmental impact assessment (EIA) may be required for some of the underlying sub-operations or some of the individual schemes; this will be verified during the appraisal of the sub-operations. The status of any environmental studies and public consultations related to the investments, as well as the alignment of energy efficiency requirements with the EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD, 2018/844/EU) will also be further assessed during project appraisal. In case the Bank finances the purchase of new rolling stock (e.g. buses, tramways, etc.) to replace old rolling stock units, the Bank will request the relevant promoters to ensure compliance with the applicable standards when dismantling or scrapping the rolling stock being removed from service. Finally, the project is expected to contribute to the EIB climate action and environmental sustainability (CA&ES) objectives, in particular to climate mitigation.

The promoters to be supported through this operation are not known yet, but expected to be local authorities, including companies fully or majority-owned by public authorities of the Mission Cities, as well as other eligible financial intermediary banks/entities working with the CNC Mission. National Promotional Banks (NPBs) and commercial banks may act as intermediating banks. The Bank will require the promoters to ensure that the contracts for the implementation of each sub-operation have been and will be tendered in accordance with the applicable EU procurement legislation, Directive 2014/23/EU / 2014/24/EU / 2014/25/EU as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, with publication of tender notices in the EU Official Journal, as and where required.