President Hoyer to Bloomberg TV: “It’s a question of days and weeks for European companies”

In a recent interview in New York with Bloomberg TV at the margins of the UN General Assembly and New York Climate Week, EIB President Werner Hoyer discussed the current energy crisis and efforts to develop renewable energy and infrastructure. Questioned by presenters Alix Steel and Guy Johnson on the EIB’s energy lending policy, President Hoyer said, “We need to stay the course on decarbonisation." Decarbonisation, he said, requires a much stronger focus on innovation, development and climate. "Decarbonisation is not a luxury, it’s an imperative if we want to keep our planet alive."

By the end of the week temperatures in Davos had plummeted to a toe-numbing minus 14 centigrade. President Trump and PM May had cancelled their visits. Brexit, the US shutdown and an increasingly anti-democratic tendency in some unexpected parts of the world added to the chill at the World Economic Forum gathering. But one clear melody line rang out. As EIB President Werner Hoyer put it to La Stampa newspaper, “This is the time to defend multilateralism and not let the world drift apart. This message has been expressed very loudly here in Davos.”

At the COP 25 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Madrid, the EIB will be discussing how its new climate action roadmap and recent decision to phase out support for unabated fossil fuel energy projects can support European Union leadership on international climate action.