Monday 9 December 2019
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Paris-based asset manager Amundi have raised an initial €253 million (£213m) for a programme that aims to contribute to the deployment of new financing required to meet the commitments made under the Paris climate change agreement.
The Green Continuum programme, launched in July this year, hopes to enhance the green debt market beyond existing green bonds, to support small-scale green projects and financing for SMEs, with the EIB contributing €60 million (£50m).
The EIB said the programme, which aims to ultimately deploy a total of €1 billion (£0.8bn), attracted initial commitments from pension funds, insurance companies, banking institutions and public investment organisations based in three Denmark, France and Luxembourg.
EIB Vice President Ambroise Fayolle added: “The EIB has been at the forefront of the green finance promotion, issuing the first green bond in 2007, increasing its climate financing year after year and strengthening its climate policy. While progress has been made on many fronts, financing gaps persist, including in Europe. This programme is designed to address these gaps and we are happy to be partnering up with Amundi to do so.”
Amundi is creating a Green Transaction Network with leading financial institutions and issuers to source deals and projects, in order to maximise the impact of the programme and foster green credit market expansion.
A scientific committee of green finance experts is also being established to define and promote environmental guidelines for the target markets in line with international best practice and legislation derived from the European Commission Action Plan.
Amundi CEO Yves Perrier said: “We have seen fantastic enthusiasm for this programme among institutional investors who recognise the importance of energy transition and wish to diversify their sources of yield in a low interest rate environment.
“Leveraging our European debt investment capabilities, our commitments to ESG and the EIB’s unique presence and capabilities in Europe and in climate finance, the Green Credit Continuum is a unique public-private partnership addressing Europe’s ambitious but critical environmental objectives.”