Brussels (AFP)

The European Investment Bank (EIB) announced on Thursday that it would stop funding new projects related to fossil fuels, including gas, from 2022, a decision hailed for its contribution to the fight against climate change.

The decision is "historic", according to the French Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire. "A giant leap" for EIB President Werner Hoyer.

"We will stop funding fossil fuels and we will launch the most ambitious climate investment strategy for all public financial institutions in the world," Hoyer said in a statement.

The EIB, based in Luxembourg, is the bank of the European Union. Its board of directors, composed of representatives of the Member States and the European Commission, voted Thursday for its new investment policy.

As early as July, the EIB had advocated no longer investing in fossil fuel projects, including gas, but the decision on the board of directors has been the subject of intense debate.

The discussion was "long" on the schedule, so acknowledged its vice president Andrew McDowell during a conference call with reporters. Several NGOs, for their part, denounced the hesitations surrounding the inclusion of projects related to gas, the least CO2 emitting fossil fuels.

The European Commission has repeatedly emphasized the role of gas in the energy transition of the continent. On Thursday it supported the EIB's new policy, which was particularly satisfied with a "transitional arrangement for phasing out gas projects, including vital projects for gas interconnection and storage, so-called projects of common interest". , she explained in a statement.

In addition to the flagship announcement on fossil fuels, the EIB plans to "unlock" up to € 1 trillion in investment in climate and sustainable development over the next decade. According to McDowell, one in two euro invested by the EIB by 2025 will be dedicated to environmental projects.

- Climate Bank -

The future President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen had called for the transformation of the EIB into a real "climate bank".

"This decision confirms that the EU is endowed with financial means to match its climatic ambitions and must create a global dynamic," said Bruno Le Maire, recalling the support of President Emmanuel Macron at the moult of the EIB.

France is even "ready to increase its stake in capital to serve this ambition," he added in an interview in the daily Les Echos.

The bank aims to ensure that its investment policy complies with the commitments made when the Paris agreement on greenhouse gas emission reductions was signed.

Several NGOs also congratulated themselves.

"Today's decision is an important victory for the climate movement, and the world's biggest public bank has responded to public pressure and recognized that funding for all fossil fuels must stop," he said. reacted Colin Roche of Friends of the Earth, calling on all other banks, private and public, to be inspired.

"It is also a clear call for all EU funds to follow suit and exclude all activities that make climate change more difficult for funding opportunities," added Markus Trilling of Climate Action Network.

But environmental organizations still lamented an application deemed late.

"While the new policy means that the EU will largely end its support for coal and oil, the financing of projects such as pipelines until 2021 and the modernization of existing fossil fuel infrastructure after 2021 threatens the EU's climate commitments, "Greenpeace noted.

According to Greenpeace and WWF, 19 Member States supported the new policy, including France and Germany. The lack of flexibility on the gas cooled several countries that voted against or abstained. And Austria and Luxembourg abstained to protest against the inclusion of nuclear power in this new policy, according to these organizations.

© 2019 AFP