“I am delighted to launch here today in Nouméa, in close cooperation with Agence Française de Développement, the Environnementale II credit line. The aim of this financial commitment is twofold: to help private enterprises with their environmental development projects while at the same time improving the facilities offered by the banking sector.
Green growth and the development of renewable energy are among the core priorities for New Caledonia and the EIB. This operation will serve as a breeding ground for innovative projects and jobs in New Caledonia and also help to preserve one of the world’s unique ecosystems.”
Philippe de Fontaine Vive
EIB Vice-President
On 8 July 2010 the EUR 10 million Environnementale II credit line was signed in Nouméa (New Caledonia) by EIB Vice-President Philippe de Fontaine Vive and the heads of four New Caledonian banks – Banque Calédonienne d’Investissement (BCI), Société Générale Calédonienne de Banque (SGCB), BNP Paribas Nouvelle-Calédonie (BNP NC) and Banque de Nouvelle Calédonie (BNC).
More specifically, the Environnementale II credit line is a subsidised facility that will enable the four New Caledonian banks to finance on better terms projects in the renewable energy, environmental and waste treatment sectors, such as the construction of wind farms or photovoltaic systems or the deployment of more environmentally friendly means of transport. These loans are aimed especially at environmental businesses of all sizes and private firms in New Caledonia with more than 100 employees or generating an annual turnover of over XPF 1.2 billion (EUR 10 million). Furthermore, the EIB has recently joined the GRAINE association, to which it will make available EUR 30 000 to help finance its assistance fund.
The Environnementale II credit line has a twofold aim:
- to encourage New Caledonian businesses to preserve the environment, contribute to initiatives to harness energy and promote the development of green energy. New Caledonia still generates only a small amount of energy from renewable sources. It must, however, be capable of meeting ambitious environmental protection objectives, particularly in the context of preserving its lagoon, which is included on the UNESCO World Heritage list;
- to promote diversification of the banks’ lending activity by facilitating long-term loans (up to 15 years), thereby improving the return on investment.
The signature of this loan marks an important step in the EIB’s determination to work more closely with development financing institutions, in particular to provide more effective support for the Overseas Countries and Territories. It was with that in mind that the Environnementale II credit line was arranged, conceived and implemented in close cooperation with AFD, with the aim of proposing additional financial products under the GRAINE facility. This facility was established by AFD and New Caledonia’s local chambers of commerce and industry in 2009 and is subsidised by the Government of New Caledonia and the Provinces.
How can the challenge of green growth be met? This is more than just a question – it is now a priority for the EIB. Since 1968, New Caledonia has received loans totalling over EUR 38 million, of which EUR 5 million to finance environmental and renewable energy projects, in particular the Helios Bay project, the first photovoltaic plant in New Caledonia, whose annual production of 3m KWh enables a saving of 1 710 tonnes of CO2 a year to be made. In Polynesia, of the EUR 51 million in loans granted since 1980, EUR 15 million has been earmarked for environmental credit lines since 2007. In metropolitan France, the EIB has chosen to promote sustainable, competitive and secure energy, with total lending in 2009 of EUR 1.3 billion.
On 9 July 2010 the Environnementale II credit line will be signed in Papeete by SOCREDO and EIB Vice-President Philippe de Fontaine Vive.
Note to editors:
The European Investment Bank is the EU’s financing institution. It therefore operates mainly within the EU but also outside the Union under explicit mandates handed down at European Council meetings. It is thus active in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States and the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) under the Cotonou Partnership Agreement.
EIB lending in the ACP States and the OCTs is intended to stimulate sustainable economic growth, in particular via investment in support of the private sector as well as environmental projects. The loans may be financed from the own resources of either the EIB or the Investment Facility (a revolving fund financed by the EU Member States via the European Development Fund), as in the case of the Environnementale II credit line in New Caledonia.
As far back as 1968 the EIB intervened to promote growth and jobs in New Caledonia with the financing of Nouméa Port. Fresh impetus was given to this partnership in 1981 with the financing of the maiden credit lines. The EIB has thus granted six credit lines to BCI, including one of EUR 5 million signed in 2007 for financing environmental projects. This environmental credit line has already served to partly finance the Helios Bay project, a photovoltaic plant whose annual production of 2.8m KWh will help to make CO2 savings of 1 710 tonnes a year and has created eight jobs. Other financing operations are also being appraised in the renewable energy and waste treatment sectors. These projects will help to save energy and raw materials.
In total, the EIB has lent more than EUR 38 million to New Caledonia, of which EUR 5 million has gone towards financing projects in the environmental and renewable energy fields.