European Investment Bank ends rumours of finance for new coal power plant in Greece | WPN World People News

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will not provide support for the proposed Ptolemaida-5 lignite power plant project in Greece, despite claims made by the Public Power Corporation of Greece (PPC SA).

WWF-Greece and seven municipalities will oppose several coal-fired power plant projects.

WWF has been told by the EIB that no official request has been made for financial support for this project. If such a request were to be made, it would fall under the new energy policy of the EIB voted last July. According to WWF, such a policy would clearly rule out the Ptolemaida-5 project given its very high level of CO2 emissions.

According to Sebastian Godinot, Economist at WWF European Policy Office
“This is good news not only for Greece but also as an important test case for EIB energy policy. The Ptolemaida-5 plant shows that the EIB clearly appears willing to “walk the talk” when it comes to its new energy policy. WWF calls on other financial institutions like KfW - the German government-owned development bank - to drop their support for this old-fashioned, polluting and uneconomic project.Clean energy alternatives are available in Greece and these merit full support.”

“WWF urges all public financial institutions to publicly commit to phase-out their support for coal and follow the EIB’s lead. We are concerned that despite pledges made by World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to renounce coal, they might be preparing to invest in a highly controversial new lignite plant in Kosovo – locking this small country into a carbon intensive energy path for decades.”

Source: World Wildlife Fund