BRUSSELS — The European Investment Bank has proposed extending its right to approve some gas projects, despite an initial goal of ending support for fossil fuel investments by the end of next year.
The proposal is part of an effort to get its new climate-friendly energy policy approved at a crunch board meeting Thursday. It comes in the face of resistance to parts of the policy from some European Union member states, which own the bank, and the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, largely over concerns about ending all support for gas. EIB funded almost €2 billion of fossil fuel projects last year and €13.4 billion ($14.7 billion) since 2013.
The bank’s board of directors, which includes members from each of the 28 EU states and the commission, was originally meant to agree the energy lending policy, or ELP, at a board meeting Oct. 15, but it deferred the decision to this month’s meeting. EIB Vice President Andrew McDowell tweeted last month that he was “confident of securing a final approval in November.” Reuters reported Friday that Germany, Italy, and Poland were among those who wanted gas funding to continue.