Nicholas Stern responds to EIB proposal to end lending for fossil fuels

Press release on 26 July, 2019

The Gurukul Chevening Programme Public Lecture The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change

For immediate release – Friday 26 July 2019

Responding to the announcement today (26 July 2019) that the European Investment Bank (EIB) has proposed to end lending for fossil fuel-reliant energy projects by the end of 2020 in its draft energy lending policy, Professor Lord Nicholas Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said:

“The European Investment Bank has taken a very strong and valuable lead by proposing to end investments in fossil fuels from 2020. This change would mean the EIB investing in the projects of the 21st century, instead of the 19th and 20th, likely making excellent returns while fostering real progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.

“All other international financial institutions, and financial institutions more generally, should look to align their lending with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, for sound investment in a sustainable future.”

For more information about this media release please contact Kieran Lowe on +44 (0) 20 7107 5442 or k.lowe@lse.ac.uk or Bob Ward on +44 (0) 7811 320346 or r.e.ward@lse.ac.uk.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Lord Stern is chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, and I.G. Patel Professor of Economics and Government, at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
His previous posts included Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist at the World Bank, and Chief Economist and Special Counsellor to the President at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (https://www.cccep.ac.uk/) is hosted by the University of Leeds and the London School of Economics and Political Science. It is funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (https://www.esrc.ac.uk/). The Centre’s mission is to advance public and private action on climate change through rigorous, innovative research.
The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (https://www.lse.ac.uk/grantham) was launched at the London School of Economics and Political Science in October 2008. It is funded by the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment (https://www.granthamfoundation.org/).