The European Investment Bank
wants to stop the increase in the world’s temperature.
The increase in temperatures is called climate change.
It causes extreme weather.
Sometimes it is hotter than usual.
Sometimes it is colder.
Often climate change causes extreme storms.
We invest billions of euros
in projects that protect the environment.
The projects reduce the emission of gases
that flow into the atmosphere.
These gases trap the sun’s heat
and makes the Earth get warmer.
This is called the greenhouse effect.
We lend money to governments,
so that they can help their citizens
adapt to the effects of climate change.
We also lend to companies and governments
for projects that slow down
the increase in temperatures.
The European Green Deal
We work with other institutions
of the European Union
to solve the climate change problem together.
Europe wants to stop releasing
greenhouse gases by 2050.
We can do this
if we stop burning fuel.
We can use the energy from natural resources
like the sun, the wind and water,
instead of fossil fuels, like gasoline and coal.
These changes can be difficult
and cost a lot of money.
We want to help everyone
make these changes
and save humanity together.
We call this plan the European Green Deal.
The Paris Agreement
In 2015 the governments of almost all the countries in the world
met in Paris
to decide how to solve
the climate emergency.
They decided to cut the emission of gases
that make the Earth warmer.
We follow the rules of the Paris agreement
in everything we do.
Our projects help people prepare
for the effects of climate change,
so that they can adapt their lives.
We helped the city of Florence in Italy.
We helped Florence avoid flooding
by its big river, the Arno.
We hired a consultant
to advise the mayor’s office
on ways to build valleys and hills
in a park near the river.
The park absorbs the excess water from the river
like a sponge,
so there are no more floods
and people can walk in the park.
We gave money to a company in Belgium
that protects bees against pesticides and diseases.
Bees are important.
They carry pollen from flower to flower
to produce seeds and new plants.
