GINKGO III - GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE (NCFF)

A contingent loan of up to EUR 15 million under the Natural Capital Financing Facility (NCFF) mandate for co-financing the green and blue infrastructure of projects developed by Ginkgo III Fund.

The project consists of promoting and co-financing nature-based green and blue infrastructure solutions in European brownfield urban regeneration sites (previously developed land for industrial, commercial or military use requiring depollution), for climate adaption and biodiversity benefits. Including nature-based green and blue infrastructure elements in urban regeneration projects provide multiple environmental, economic and social benefits. Examples of those solutions include sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS), green corridors, permeable pavements, passive cooling and shading, urban farming, ponds, parks or rooftop gardens that deliver multiple benefits (reduction of heat stress, increased water infiltration and flood protection, reduction of noise, improvement of air quality, energy savings, or biodiversity benefits). In addition, various nature-based depollution techniques (e.g. anaerobic processes) will be favoured in the remediation processes.

EIB intervention will have a positive impact on the design of green and blue measures embedded in urban infrastructures that will result in greater climate resilience and biodiversity benefits. The operation consist of a 12 years bullet quasi-equity loan of up to EUR 15m under the Natural Capital Finance Facility to co-finance green and blue infrastructure projects developed by Ginkgo Fund III, which aims to decontaminate brownfield sites to be further redeveloped into urban development projects. This is considered a sustainable urban development approach and it is at the core of more circular infrastructure investments, as it reduces pressure on greenfield development and mitigates the negative effects of urban sprawl (e.g. loss of ecosystems and biodiversity). EIB additionally comes from financing innovative tailor-made nature based solutions applied to urban infrastructures (typically housing, office and other community services) which tend to lack dedicated financial support from municipal resources. In addition, the EIB and NCFF Technical Assistance intervention will allow to disseminate best practices and demonstrate the benefits to a wider public, in particular to local authorities, of investing into nature-based climate adaption.

The project will primarily contribute to the objectives of Art. 15 under the LIFE Regulation, i.e. the priority area climate change adaptation. In addition, the blue and green infrastructure (BGI) solutions may also contribute to the objectives of Art 11, i.e. the priority area nature and biodiversity under the LIFE Regulation. BGI will generally offer increased habitat space for fauna and flora and the assessment of different designs of BGI could take biodiversity as one of several criteria into account. The operation will also contribute to the objectives of the EU Urban Agenda, namely to the objectives of the partnership 'Sustainable use of land and nature based solutions' as well for the EU Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe and the European Green Deal, aiming at a no 'net land take' by 2050 and sustainable resource use.

The borrowers are private companies not operating in the utilities sector and not having a status of a contracting authority. Thus, it is not covered by the EU directives on procurement.