Guardian: “The European investment bank (EIB), the EU’s main lending arm, said it would stop financing most coal-fired power stations to help the 28-nation bloc reduce pollution and meet its climate targets.” “New and refurbished coal-fired power plants will not be eligible for funding unless they emit less than 550 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour (gCO2/kW), the EIB said on Wednesday, which could be met either by a combined heat and power plant or one that also burns biomass.
….The EIB decision follows moves by other multilateral financial institutions such as the Washington-headquartered World Bank to fund coal-fired power stations only in “rare circumstances”.
Since the start of 2007, the EIB has loaned around €11bn ($14.5bn) to fossil fuel-fired plants, most of it to gas rather than coal, out of its total lending for power of €83bn.
Ingrid Holmes of E3G: “With several directors pushing for 450 gCO2/kW at the meeting, I’d expect to see it tightened further over the next 12 months as the politics of the EU’s broader approach to 2030 (carbon emissions) targets is settled.”
An emissions cap of 450g/kW would mean that older, inefficient gas plants would also not be eligible for funding. The cap would have to be 150g/kW to force all gas plants to deploy largely unproven carbon capture and storage technology.”
….The EIB decision follows moves by other multilateral financial institutions such as the Washington-headquartered World Bank to fund coal-fired power stations only in “rare circumstances”.
Since the start of 2007, the EIB has loaned around €11bn ($14.5bn) to fossil fuel-fired plants, most of it to gas rather than coal, out of its total lending for power of €83bn.
Ingrid Holmes of E3G: “With several directors pushing for 450 gCO2/kW at the meeting, I’d expect to see it tightened further over the next 12 months as the politics of the EU’s broader approach to 2030 (carbon emissions) targets is settled.”
An emissions cap of 450g/kW would mean that older, inefficient gas plants would also not be eligible for funding. The cap would have to be 150g/kW to force all gas plants to deploy largely unproven carbon capture and storage technology.”
