We can’t be too modest, despite the difficulties and circumstances we go through. I find it inspiring that young people want to take us to the economy. It is our common duty to make such ideas a reality. We are living in crisis times, the pandemic is not over, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created a humanitarian tragedy and raised food and energy prices globally. We are in a climate emergency, and we must meet the Paris targets.
This was stated by the President of the European Investment Bank Werner Heuer during the international conference Green Transition 2022: “The Green Deal – Innovation, Investment and a Just Transition” organized by Dir.bg and 3E-news.
In his words, we may only have a few years to avoid the worst.
“These challenges require huge investments and we cannot hide behind any of them. At the European Investment Bank we are committed in our work with Bulgaria and other member states to make such necessary investments and overcome such challenges”, he was adamant.
Werner Heuer pointed out that funds are currently being redirected to Ukraine from Europe, which cannot be absorbed at the moment for one reason or another, but can be redirected to such new projects related to the green transition.
“Russia’s aggression has led to a breakdown in the global energy system, causing difficulties and increasing uncertainty over energy supplies. This has also highlighted Europe’s dependence on supplies from Russia. We need to overcome these bottlenecks and make the investments quickly,” added the EIB President.
In his words, the bank will also contribute, having already financed 10 billion euros for energy efficiency projects.
“We have decided that by 2022 all projects we fund must meet the targets set in Paris. The EIB is one of the largest investment banks in the world, so we have a politically shaped target and we have to meet it when we make our investments, which so far have been over €1 trillion,” Hoyer added.
The President of the EIB drew attention to the need to work on investments aimed at reducing dependence on energy supplies.
“Especially at this moment, when Europeans are at a disadvantage, we are several years ahead when we talk about green energies. However, we must not close our eyes to the difficulties. Not every coal miner will become a clean energy expert. We are working to rely on a new credit for the green transition. We are getting involved in just transition projects by providing consulting services,” he said.
According to Werner Heuer, business must also support green energy projects if they are to succeed.
“Sometimes we need to look for money on the open market and we need to convince investors to give it to us. Things need to be clean and clear technically. That is, only fund projects that are technologically sustainable. We are working to help accelerate the green and digital transition,” concluded the President of the European Investment Bank.