EIB Group expands green financing tool outside the European Union

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group has announced the expansion of its Green Checker platform, which enables investors to identify projects eligible for green financing, to countries outside the European Union.

In a statement, the EIB Group declared that the shift will create it ‘clearer for public and private sector partners to design, evaluate, and secure funding for climate and environmental sustainability projects’.

The upgraded tool has been tailored to regional markets, including North Africa, the Middle-East, the Western Balkans, the Caucasus and the Eastern Neighbourhood, with simplified data inputs and flexible parameters to reflect local conditions.

‘A transformative tool’

“The Green Checker is a transformative tool,” commented EIB vice-president Ambroise Fayolle. “It assists companies assess whether their projects meet climate and environmental criteria and determine their eligibility for EIB financing through our partner banks.

“We are now broadening its scope to include countries beyond Europe, accelerating climate investments globally. The Green Checker is an instrument to simplify the assessment of climate projects, in particular for SMEs.”

Climate benefits

The digital tool, which is free and publicly accessible, provides a structured, step-by-step process to evaluate a project’s potential climate benefits – such as expected energy savings and emissions reductions – as well as whether declared project is consistent with the EU Taxonomy and the EIB’s climate eligibility criteria.

‘This means tiny and medium-sized enterprises, tiny public bodies, and individual clients can also apply the tool to assess their projects and access green finance opportunities,’ the EIB Group declared in a statement.

It forms part of a broader array of web-based tools to support banks and businesses, including the Decarbonisation Guide, which the EIB has supported through advisory services in North Macedonia and Morocco.

The expansion of the tool supports the EU’s Global Gateway Investment Agconcludea, which aims to mobilise up to €300 billion in public and private investments between 2021 and 2027. Read more here.