EIB Group President Nadia Calviño delivered the keynote speech at Bloomberg's Sustain Strategy Summit 2025 on financing Europe's resilience and sustainable strength.
Dear friends,
It's a great pleasure to share some thoughts about sustainable investment in a rapidly shifting global landscape. News and headlines are dominated these days and markets are moved by the future of trade, global security and economic competitiveness.
I recently returned from the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group in Washington, where these themes also dominated our discussions. Our position at the European Investment Bank Group is that far from being a distraction, sustainable investment is a key piece of the puzzle in each of these global debates.
While in some places the word climate is not very much in fashion. Indeed, it's becoming almost revolutionary, I want to say that we at the European Investment Bank are proud to be the Climate Bank, and we will stay the course. And that's because we see the green transition as a key driver of European competitiveness, security, stability and strategic autonomy.
The record green financing that we deployed last year alone is expected to mobilise more than €100 billion in new investments for energy efficiency, renewables, storage and electricity grids in Europe. And we shortly will be launching a dedicated guarantee package for European grid manufacturers and renewable energy producers. This way we are helping reduce the EU's dependence on fossil fuel producers, and we are ensuring the cheapest and cleanest energy for citizens and companies.
So, you see, far from leading us astray from our mission as the financing arm of the European Union, sustainable investments are a core part of the mandate. They are helping us bolster home-grown innovation and industrial excellence, creating European champions, reinforcing our energy security and also creating millions of jobs. Green financing is also helping shield our cities and communities from the impact of climate change.
Every euro invested in climate adaptation can save €5 to €7 from future damage. In other words, what is the right thing to do for our planet, is also the smart thing to do for our economies.
Moreover, sustainable finance is catalysing the deepening of Europe's capital markets. In 2007, the European Investment Bank launched the world's first-ever green bond. And today, we are one of the world's largest issuers of sustainable bonds, with more than €120 billion sold so far. Recently, we extended the scope of our Sustainable Awareness Bonds to women's entrepreneurship and gender equality, beyond eligibility such as water, education, health and housing.
In these very volatile times, these bonds are also building blocks towards a European Capital Markets Union. They are creating a European safe asset for investors an increasingly deep and liquid market under a European flag.
Market demand is boosting the appeal of the Euro and Europe as a safe harbour. Last month, we issued our first Climate Awareness Bond aligned with the European Green Bond standard. The €3 billion offering was oversubscribed by more than 13 times. And this clearly reflects the very positive prospect for sustainable investments globally.
What's more, recent Bloomberg and International Energy Agency data show that despite the political rhetoric, new clean energy investment has risen to successive records every single year for two decades in a row and now exceeds $2 trillion annually. Record numbers of electric vehicles are being sold every year and record new clean energy storage is being deployed. And this confirms why our shareholders, the 27 member states of the European Union, were right to unanimously endorse a strategic roadmap for the EIB Group that puts climate at the core of our investment priorities.
We are well on course to meet our target of supporting €1 trillion in green investment this decade, a commitment that we will reaffirm with the second phase of our Climate Bank Roadmap later this year.
To conclude, at the EIB Group we see sustainability and economic prosperity as mutually reinforcing. They are the foundations of the liveable planet and the stable future that we want for ourselves and our children. While some may question the direction of travel, I believe it is unstoppable.
And you can count on the EIB Group to continue on this path, providing stability and certainty to citizens, investors and our partners around the world.
Thank you and I wish you very productive discussions.