One of the most sensitive issues in Europe’s relationship with the rest of the world today is climate change. Why, some leaders and analysts ask, can Germany reactivate coal-fired power plants, but the European Union cannot use its development budget to support fossil fuel infrastructure designed to alleviate energy poverty in Africa?
European Investment Bank President Werner Hoyer said early last month that EIB was “on the right side of history” when it decided in 2019 to stop funding all fossil fuel infrastructure, including gas. But for a country such as Senegal, which recently discovered oil and gas, that’s a problem.
Addressing a panel at last week’s inaugural EIB Forum in Luxembourg, Devex asked whether, given its relentless focus on green and digital investments, Europe was in fact not listening to African needs as closely as it claimed. The response indicated that not all multilateral development banks think exactly alike when it comes to aligning with the Paris climate agreement.