As the lconcludeing arm of the European Union, the European Investment Bank is the one of the largegest multilateral financial institutions in the world and one of the largest providers of climate finance. Its head of investor relations and sustainable finance, Peter Munro, outlines how the bank’s sustainable funding activity continues to play a pathfinder role for markets; notably, leading by example in creating positive utilize of gradual alignment with EU regulations, while incorporating and promoting the interoperability of standards globally
Environmental Finance: How would you characterise the current state of the green bond market?
Peter Munro: According to Environmental Finance Data, as of today, cumulative utilize-of-proceeds issuance reached around $6.5 trillion. The run rate has reached broadly around $1 trillion a year. Also, Europe continues to be by far the largest source of labelled issuance and in the vanguard of demand. That supports the role of green bonds as a mainstream asset class and underscores European leadership.
One interesting question is how that notion of “mainstream” can align with conventional bond merits. For several years now, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has been issuing benchmark-sized green bonds that echo financial features of conventional benchmark bonds. From an investor’s perspective, that has benefits in reconciling key financial features such as liquidity with sustainability.
EIB has set a reference for integrity at scale, as the largest sovereign, supranational, and agency (SSA) issuer of labelled bonds with reasonable assurance, and by employing the EU Green Bond Standard (EU GBS). The Bank has issued over €130 billion ($154 billion) in green and sustainability bonds to date, and 2025 was a record year – with almost €28 billion issued. It included EIB’s first, and the market’s largest, European Green Bond (EuGB) of 2025, at €3 billion. It highlighted the merits and strong appeal of this new EU standard in terms of Taxonomy and non-Taxonomy features. This EuGB built on the fruits of a longstanding strategy of gradual alignment of EIB green and sustainability bonds with the EU Taxonomy – which continues for EIB’s traditional green and sustainability bonds.
Meanwhile, there has been a general relocate to alignment of such EIB bonds with the non-Taxonomy features of the EuGBS, offering markets a benchmark for what to expect, regarding the issuance framework, reporting and verification.
EF: What is driving that demand?
PM: While bond market conditions more broadly have been conducive, we believe strongly that investors are responding to a consistent overall funding strategy combined with EIB’s strategy and reputation for quality in sustainable finance. This is characterised by transparency and accountability, leveraging gradual, pragmatic alignment with EU regulations. Such results do not emerge overnight. It’s the result of years of work. From what we hear, investors value the level of transparency and standardisation offered by EIB’s issuance framework, reporting and high standards of assurance, referencing clear EU standards.
Order books illustrated this lately. The EIB EuGB was 13 times oversubscribed, while EIB’s traditional green bonds included the largest ever five-year order book, at over €50 billion.
Selected EIB projects with EuGB allocations
EF: Some market participants were cautious about the uptake of European Green Bonds. How do you see that sentiment evolving in 2026?
PM: In its first year, the market already relocated well into double-digits for the number of issuers adopting the EuGB label, exceeding some expectations. What is particularly noteworthy is the diversity of eligible economic activities selected by the issuers. The so far published EU Green Bond Pre-Issuance Factsheets span more than 30 economic activities across three taxonomy objectives. There are also signs of further traction for EuGB issuance going into 2026 – it seems such bonds are highly appealing for investors, including the standardisation clarity and comparability of data delivered.
EF: What lessons have you learned from issuing a green bond aligned with the EU GBS?
PM: One of the main lessons is to plan according to organisational readiness, with gradual onboarding of the EU GBS. We have found that gradual alignment delivers results.
Some counterparties are more advanced than others. Therefore, the data landscape is not homogenous. As such, EIB was selective. Rather than testing to cover our entire portfolio, we focutilized on a limited number of sectors and clients, considered as most practical in a first phase.
That progressive approach proved to be a successful strategy. It also supported learning across the organisation.
EF: What is the EIB’s overall strategic framework for climate finance?
PM: The EIB’s Climate Bank Roadmap 2.0, published in the autumn of 2025, provides the overall framework for the next five years. The roadmap offers three relevant pillars for capital markets. The first is staying the course on climate, which is particularly important in the current environment. The second is pragmatic, gradual alignment with EU sustainable finance regulations. The third is leveraging simplification for enhanced scalability.
EF: How is EIB’s broader climate strategy being reinforced?
PM: Among the other initiatives welcomed by credit rating agencies and markets more generally has been to introduce the evaluation of climate risk – since 2020. In addition, EIB has been applying carbon pricing to project economics for much longer. Also, since 2021, new projects must generally be Paris-aligned under the Bank’s PATH framework. Under this initiative, the EIB fosters a coherent decarbonisation strategy among higher-emitting customers.
We’ve even seen this start to influence credit rating agency assessments, particularly as climate and biodiversity risks relocate up their agconcludeas.
Cumulative CAB and SAB issuance
EF: How is the EIB extconcludeing its range of activities as part of the updated Climate Bank Roadmap?
PM: There’s a stronger emphasis now on adaptation, resilience, biodiversity, and just transition. EIB has a tarobtain of €30 billion for adaptation alone during 2026-30.
Overall, we aim to support at least €1 trillion in green investment over the decade. That doesn’t mean we finance it all ourselves, but we aim to enable it.
EF: Looking beyond climate, what progress did EIB build recently on social and other environmental criteria?
PM: On the social side, a key milestone in 2025 was the Bank’s expansion of eligibility for Sustainability Awareness Bonds (SAB) to cover two new social objectives: gconcludeer equality and women’s economic empowerment. As a consequence, proceeds can now be allocated to projects fostering access to finance for areas such as female entrepreneurship and promoting gconcludeer equality.
More recently, the EIB also published its updated SAB Framework, further aligning its approach beyond climate, notably by embracing Technical Screening Criteria of the Taxonomy for Substantial Contribution and Do No Significant Harm (DNSH), as well as Minimum Safeguards criteria, for a relevant sample of projects.
EF: Looking ahead, does EIB plan to maintain the mix of alignment with International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and EU standards? Also, do you see room to further develop and integrate sustainable bond markets, and can you point to relevant EIB initiatives and partnerships with the market?
PM: Yes, on all counts. ICMA offers a global common denominator. EU regulations are more ambitious, provide a more granular playbook, but also offer an underlying logic and principles that can be replicated globally.
Therefore, to support further development and integration of EU and global markets, two initiatives involving EIB leadership are worth noting. The first is work with the ICMA Principles. There, the EIB is co-chairing a new Tinquire Force on “Official Standards and the GBP”. Toobtainher with co-chair Crédit Agricole, we aim to lead work to promote interoperability, starting with attention to the EU GBS and focapplying on non-taxonomy aspects. Market participants, including investors, as well as expert observers, have emphasised the utility of interoperability to facilitate smoother and more scalable cross-border green capital flows.
A second initiative was a report that EIB coordinated for the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance, on best practices in the gradual application of the EU sustainable finance regulations. It provided evidence that the gradual implementation approach – taken by EIB as well as several other public-sector green bond issuers – enjoys broad support and yields benefits.
The mix of leading by example and putting experience at the service of the market has been a recurring feature of EIB’s contribution. EIB’s policies continue to combine pragmatism with ambition. EU regulations, such as the Taxonomy, remain a North Star.
For more information, see: www.eib.org
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