- The EIB Greening Financial Systems technical assistance programme has been launched in Jordan to support the Central Bank of Jordan and commercial banks.
- Jordan’s businesses will have better access to green finance solutions across the banking, insurance and microfinance sectors.
- The programme will help banks manage climate-related risks, develop green financial products and grow their green lending portfolios.
- It will also help the country’s central bank implement its Green Finance Strategy.
Today in Amman, EIB Global – the development arm of the European Investment Bank (EIB) – in partnership with the Central Bank of Jordan, announced the launch of the Greening Financial Systems technical assistance programme in the country.
The programme will support the Central Bank of Jordan as it creates an environment that promotes the transition to a net-zero, climate-resilient financial system, and will help Jordanian commercial banks integrate climate risk assessment into their operations and green their business models. As a result, Jordanian businesses will enjoy better access to finance for building resilience to climate change and investing in green and sustainable technologies.
“Climate change poses challenges not only to the environment but also to the stability and resilience of financial systems across many countries. By partnering with the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Central Bank of Jordan reaffirms its commitment to building a sustainable financial sector—one that channels greater investment into green projects, safeguards businesses against climate risks, and supports Jordan’s transition to a low-carbon economy,” said Dr. Adel Al-Sharkas, Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan.
“By working together, we can unlock the high investment volumes needed for a sustainable and resilient future. The EIB’s global experience and technical expertise will support Jordanian banks in leading the green transition,” said EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti. “The EIB is delighted to work alongside the Central Bank of Jordan and our European partners to bring global expertise in green finance to Jordan. By empowering local banks and financial institutions, we can accelerate climate action and ensure that the benefits of sustainable finance reach every corner of the country.”
The EIB is a strong supporter of Jordanian businesses. Since 2017 it has provided over €1 billion of loans, as well as guarantees able to cover loan portfolios of over €200 million, partnering with eight banks and two microfinance institutions. Access to green finance is a top priority for the EIB in Jordan.
The Greening Financial Systems technical assistance programme was designed by EIB Global with funding from Germany through its International Climate Initiative (IKI). The programme contributes to the work of the NDC Partnership, a global coalition of 130 countries and more than 110 institutions to help achieve the Paris Agreement goals and drive sustainable development.
Jordan joins a growing group of countries participating in this programme – including Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Georgia, among others. Joint work with the Central Bank of Jordan under the programme will strengthen Jordan’s financial system by embedding climate risk into regulatory frameworks and accelerating sustainable finance. In the initial phase, experts will assess the financial sector’s capacity for climate risk management, reporting and green financing. This is expected to help the Central Bank of Jordan further develop its policy framework for prudential requirements around climate risk management.
“It is very encouraging that, today, we are launching a programme designed to translate green policies into practical work on the ground. The Central Bank of Jordan is of the utmost importance for Jordan’s economy, including its further transformation into a green economy. Climate change needs substantial and lasting responses from all of us – such as the new partnership between the Central Bank and the EIB. Germany is glad to be able to support this meaningful, future-oriented cooperation,” said Guido Kemmerling, Chargé d’affaires of the German Embassy to Jordan, representing IKI and the German government.
Background information
About EIB Global
The EIB is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by the Member States. It finances investments that pursue EU policy objectives.
EIB Global is the EIB Group’s specialised arm devoted to increasing the impact of international partnerships and development finance, and a key partner of Global Gateway. It aims to support €100 billion of investment by the end of 2027 – around one-third of the overall target of this EU initiative. Within Team Europe, EIB Global fosters strong, focused partnerships alongside fellow development finance institutions and civil society. EIB Global brings the EIB Group closer to people, companies and institutions through its offices across the world. Photos of EIB headquarters for media use are available here.
About the EIB Group
The EIB Group, consisting of the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund, is the biggest multilateral financial institution in the world and one of the largest providers of finance for climate action. As the bank of the European Union, its shareholders are the EU Member States, and it works in close collaboration with the European Commission. In 2024, global financing from the EIB Group totalled over €88 billion – of which a record of over €50 billion was invested in green finance. The EIB Group’s policy priorities are financing small and medium firms, innovation, digital and human capital, sustainable cities and regions, and sustainable energy and natural resources. Its work extends beyond Europe to over 160 countries.
EIB Global, the EIB’s development arm, provided a total of €8.4 billion in 2024 to help address global challenges and foster growth and opportunity all over the world. EIB Global is part of Team Europe, which means it partners with the European Commission, EU Member States and development finance institutions to deliver on common objectives and maximise the EIB Group’s impact. EIB Global is also a key partner of the European Green Deal, and of the EU’s Global Gateway initiative, under which it aims to support €100 billion of investment by the end of 2027.
About EIB Global support for Jordan’s private sector
In Jordan, the EIB has significantly ramped up support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) via the financial sector since launching its Economic Resilience Initiative in 2016. Loan commitments since 2017 exceed €1 billion, while EIB portfolio guarantees cover an MSME portfolio of over €200 million. The Bank is supporting MSMEs via eight local banks and two microfinance institutions, and projects are expected to sustain over 45 000 jobs across over 800 Jordanian enterprises. The EIB offers a broad range of products, including loans, portfolio guarantees and equity participations, as well as blending products and advisory services. The EIB Group has built up specific infrastructure, expertise and experience related to these products over many years. Learn more about the EIB in Jordan here.
About the Greening Financial Systems technical assistance programme
Greening Financial Systems is a specialised advisory programme through which the EIB supports central banks and supervisors in a number of countries as they improve climate risk management and use regulatory measures to shift financial flows. The programme also helps financial intermediaries implement these measures so that they not only catalyse funding for green projects, but also assess, monitor and report on these projects’ climate and environmental impact.
The programme is funded by the EIB’s International Climate Initiative (IKI) fund on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action. It takes a two-tiered approach based on support packages, building blocks of tailored support to suit the specific objectives and needs of regulators and financial intermediaries.
- Component I - Support for central banks and supervisors, available to central banks upon request and based on their commitment to a green agenda.
- Component II - Support for financial institutions, in complement to Component I, provided to commercial banks, development/promotional banks and other financial institutions aiming to build green-based lending and debt portfolios, and to pave the way for financing them via sustainable financial markets.
Component I focuses on developing an enabling environment for the transition to a net-zero, climate-resilient financial system, while Component II focuses on implementing specific changes in practice.
The Greening Financial Systems technical assistance programme is currently active in Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda), Eastern Europe (Armenia and Georgia), and the Western Balkans (Albania and North Macedonia), with more countries in the process of joining.