Unravelling the European Investment Bank’s pivot to a climate bank through its business model. Game change or name change
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13138388 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Helen Kavvadia (0000-0002-7109-5866, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Review of Public Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2679-3873 • E-ISSN: 2706-6274 |
| Publisher | International Public Policy Association (PUBLISHER • FR) |
| DOI | 10.4000/15t8v |
| OpenAlex | W7133537480 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 35 |
The European Investment Bank (EIB) proclaimed its metamorphosis into a climate bank in 2019. As the financing body of the European Union, the political context surrounding the bank’s announcement has garnered significant academic interest. Despite its dual nature as both a Union body and a financial entity, the business rationale behind EIB’s shift has remained underexplored. To narrow this research gap, this paper addresses two research questions: Did business interests, in addition to political motivations, influence the EIB’s pivot to climate? And was this change truly transformational? Examining lending metrics and the business model, it argues that the rapid shift to climate, although not supported by prior strategy, provided the EIB with positioning and operational opportunities. The paper finds that the pivot, while rhetorically bold, entailed limited structural changes.JEL CLASSIFICATION: L20, L31, M10, G31, G21
Climate change · Context (archaeology · European union · Investment (military · Investment banking · Politics · Global Financial Regulation and Crises · Innovation, Sustainability, Human-Machine Systems · Sustainable Finance and Green Bonds
From Strategy to Business Models and onto Tactics
The European Investment Bank’s ‘Quantum Leap’ to Become the World’s First International Climate Bank
The European Investment Bank as Policy Entrepreneur and the Promotion of Public-Private Partnerships
A Dual Entity
Financing utilities
From the Wieser report to Team Europe
Building a hidden investment state? The European Investment Bank, national development banks and European economic governance
The Public Policy Role of the European Investment Bank within the EU
Methodology of Social Sciences
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |