Green financing takes record share in EBRD's 2021 business

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) – Green financing by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) reached €5.4 billion ($6.1 billion) in 2021, a record 51% of the bank’s total business volume of €10.4 billion ($12 billion).

This marked “a significant increase on the 29% share of total financing in 2020,” the bank said in a statement on Thursday.

With the aim of making a majority of its investments green by 2025, the EBRD said it has set out “plans to support the transition to a low-carbon economy in its regions by doubling the mobilization of private-sector climate financing by 2025.”

In November, the bank announced it will allocate a further €2 billion ($2.2 billion) to “invest in green urban infrastructure over the next two years.”

“The 2021 green finance record was a key element in the EBRD’s second highest overall annual business volume ever,” read the statement.

The EBRD’s total number of projects in 2021 was 413, up from 411 in 2020, while the share of private sector investment rose four percentage points to 76%, it added.

The EBRD is owned by 71 countries, the European Union, and the European Investment Bank.