3 Minutes to Read by 3 Minutes to Read by 3 Minutes to Read by 3 (Reuters) – LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) – As huge projects stagnate in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) anticipates 2021 investments to fall short of last year’s record 11 billion euro ($13.1 billion) outlay, its president told Reuters. In the first half of the year, a recurrence of COVID-19 outbreaks in Western Europe, the Central Balkans, and Central Asia, accompanied by new travel restrictions, may hinder EBRD operations in an otherwise strong economic recovery from the pandemic, according to Odile Renaud-Basso. “We’re seeing a little bit of a slowing down of significant investment projects, so a little bit of uncertainty… (and) a wait-and-see approach from some of our clients,” Renaud-Basso said ahead of the EBRD’s annual conference this week, which marks the bank’s 30th anniversary. “We expect activity to be lower than last year’s exceptional level of 11 billion (euros), but closer to the typical range of 9-10 billion (euros).” Last year, the EBRD concentrated on providing emergency short-term liquidity, working capital, trade finance, and restructuring to help the approximately 40 economies in which it operates cope with the pandemic. This year’s activities focused on assisting clients during the economic recovery, which is likely to accelerate in the second half of 2021 as vaccination programs continue and pandemic control improves, according to Renaud-Basso. More environmentally friendly initiatives were included as part of a goal to devote more than half of its investments to the transition to sustainable and climate-resilient economies by 2025. Renaud-Basso noted that the bank may be able to offer more flexibility to economies that are still largely reliant on fossil fuels if they have decarbonisation goals. Poland, for example, uses carbon-intensive coal to generate the majority of its power and is the only European Union country that has refused to commit to climate neutrality by 2050. “We may have some flexibility to accept these initiatives if they are consistent with long-term goals that are closely connected with the Paris Agreement and have a target date for decarbonisation and so on,” she said. “This is critical for the Western Balkans, Poland, and Kazakhstan.” (1 dollar = 0.8377 euros) (David Goodman edited Tom Arnold’s and Karin Strohecker’s reporting.) Continue reading
