Climate & Infrastructure Funds
The EIF made its first cleantech equity investment in 2006 and since then we have channelled over € 1bn to climate and environment VC and PE funds. These investments have helped catalyse €3.4bn for climate innovation from third party investors and saw the EIF recognized as Europe’s largest and most active LP of the decade in cleantech. Following a restructuring within the EIB Group, this business line was transferred from the EIB to the EIF at the beginning of 2021.
The EIF’s Climate and Infrastructure fund investments support high priority thematic strategies, including a primary focus on climate action & environmental sustainability. Targeting among others a 70% climate and environment content at portfolio level, the underlying investments are expected to be a substantial contributor to the ambitious targets set out in the EIB Group Climate Bank Roadmap.
Purpose
Under the InvestEU Climate & Infrastructure Product, the EIF will provide equity investments to, or alongside, climate & infrastructure funds investing in one or more of the six Thematic Strategies laid out below.
These investments will broadly aim to:
- Address market gaps and suboptimal investment situations in areas of EU policy priorities, ensure availability of capital, more diversified and balanced infrastructure fund equity market, and
- Increase the gender balance, intensify financing in less developed EU regions, commit strongly towards climate action and environmental sustainability
Thematic Strategies
InvestEU investments are organised into six Thematic Strategies, each addressing a number of Target Areas.
A financial intermediary applying to InvestEU Climate & Infrastructure Product will therefore be expected to address in their investment strategy one or more of the following Thematic Strategies.
Click on each of these to read more about the underlying Target Areas.
Horizontal Priorities
In addition to the Thematic Strategies, InvestEU also requires to fulfill Horizontal Priorities. With a view to address gaps in the financing ecosystem, the InvestEU Climate & Infrastructure Funds product is also seeking to boost investments into two key Horizontal Priorities : Female representation and Innovation Cohesion. A Financial Intermediary therefore also has the option to flag their investment strategy as addressing one or both of these Horizontal Priority areas.
The extent to which an applicant's strategy aligns with these Horizontal Priorities may determine the policy fit of their assessment and, therefore also the EIF investment.
Click on each one of these to find out more:
Climate & Environment Impact Assessment
As a key actor in the climate & sustainability investment space as well as an InvestEU Implementing Partner, we are committed to working closely with our funds to track and assess their real and tangible climate impact. Under InvestEU we notably do this via two key processes.
Climate Action & Environmental Sustainability
For those Financial Intermediaries applying under the Climate and Infrastructure product, the contribution to Climate Action and Environmental Sustainability – and to the extent possible, an estimation of the split of such contribution between Climate Action and Environmental Sustainability (“CA&ES”) - will be determined by the EIF during the selection process.
Sustainability- Proofing
As part of InvestEU high climate and environment standards, the EIF will perform – with support from the EIB – the Sustainability Proofing assessment of all funds according to the technical guidance on sustainability proofing for the InvestEU Climate & Infrastructure Funds Product. This assessment will help investments to comply with the highest standards.
The sustainability proofing results will be summarised in the Environmental and Social Datasheet (ESDS). You can find examples of these Datasheets here.
Find out more about how the EIF invests in Climate & Environment
At the EIF, our role is to make sure that the main drivers of the European economy – the millions of small and medium-sized businesses - find the support they need in the transition to a more sustainable future, generating innovative solutions to climatic and environmental challenges. In parallel, we are directing investments to infrastructure funds with a strong climate focus to support green infrastructure projects that can also help in the transition to a more sustainable economy.
Our commitment to the Climate Bank Roadmap
All EIB Group financing activities are Paris aligned and orientated towards low-carbon and climate-resilient development. EIB Group is committed to dedicating 50% of financing to climate action. EIF’s portfolio of climate and infrastructure fund investments has a 70% target on climate action.
Stories from the ground
Many small and mid-sized companies as well as green infrastructure projects are acting as catalysts for positive change, sustainable growth and development, and hence the promotion of Europe's transition towards a greener economy.
Yet, the climate journey for both SMEs and infrastructure projects relies on the availability of green financing. This is where the EIF enters the game.
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