Don’t Let the Democrats Bring It Here! Oligarchs Push to Make EU’s European Investment Bank, Major World Lender, into ‘Climate Bank’

A fight has broken out in Europe over a move driven by London-centered environmentalist foundations, to make the world’s largest multilateral financial institution—the European Investment Bank (EIB)—into something called a “climate bank” which would be used to stop all investments into fossil fuels and “carbon-based” technologies by next year. If pushed through, it would put European Union’s EIB, in harness with big central banks—Bank of England, European Central Bank—trying to deindustrialize Europe completely by denying energy and industry credit except for wind and solar farms. Even the German government, notorious for shutting down nuclear and coal-fired power, refuses to back this move, as does the Italian government.

Jacques Cheminade, French former Presidential candidate and friend of Lyndon LaRouche who heads the Solidarité et Progrès party in France, has urged the defeat of this fatal policy move.

The Luxembourg-headquartered EIB, which identifies itself as the EU’s lending arm, has a capital near €250 billion and €400 billion in outstanding loans. It is the bank that built the Eurasia Tunnel and Marmaray Europe-Asia Railway in Turkey, the London Crossrail Tunnel, the M10 motorway in Russia, the Gazela Bridge in Serbia, the Raca Bridge between Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, the D1 motorway in Slovakia, the Sostanj Power Plant in Slovenia, the Bujagali Hydroelectric Power Station in Uganda, and has supported the Trans-European Networks (TENs). EIB has been under attack since 2010 by environmentalist foundations and NGOs like “BankWatch,” and European Climate Foundation founder Lord Nicholas Stern. It has issued “green bonds” for a decade, but for projects to improve energy efficiency, connectivity and transportation.

But in July 2019 a new policy was circulated to EIB directors to “transform itself into the EU Climate Bank.” Their October meeting, due to national resistance, did not adopt it. Now being pushed on the entire European Commission by WWF, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, etc., demanding a decision this month. They are trying to work through EU Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans, the Executive Vice-President Designate for the European Green Deal and EU Commission President Designate Ursula von der Leyen.

The needed multinational policy is the opposite: The United States, Russia, China and India can lead an agreement for a New Bretton Woods credit system, investing in just the kinds of capital projects characterizing the EIB’s history, utilizing to the hilt advanced nuclear as well as fossil fuel technologies, and pushing for breakthroughs in fusion power.