EIB Investment Report 2020/2021: Building a smart and green Europe in the COVID-19 era

The European Union's massive efforts to rebuild after the coronavirus pandemic present a unique opportunity to transform its economy, making it more green and digital – and ultimately more competitive. The Investment Report 2020-2021 looks at the toll the pandemic took on European firms’ investment and future plans, as well as their efforts to meet the demands of climate change and the digital revolution. The report’s analysis is based on a unique set of databases and data from a survey of 12 500 firms conducted in the summer of 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. While providing a snapshot of the heavy toll the pandemic took on some forms of investment, the report also offers hope by pointing out the economic areas in which Europe remains strong, such as technologies that combine green and digital innovation.

The report’s Key Findings are available here.

Table of contents

• Executive summary
• Introduction
• Part I - Investment and investment finance
  • Chapter 1 - The macroeconomic environment
  • Chapter 2 - Gross fixed capital formation
  • Chapter 3 - Financing corporate investment
• Part II - Investing in the transition to a green and smart economy
  • Chapter 4 - Tackling climate change: Investment trends and policy challenges
  • Chapter 5 - Climate change risks: Firms’ perceptions and responses
  • Chapter 6 - Leveraging the financial system to green the European economy
  • Chapter 7 - Intangible investment, innovation and digitalisation
  • Chapter 8 - Innovating for climate change: The green and digital twin transition
  • Chapter 9 - Infrastructure investment in the face of digital, climate and cohesion challenges
  • Chapter 10 - The impact of digitalisation and climate change policies on social cohesion
• Data annex
• Glossary of terms and acronyms