European bank to loan China money for air quality improvement initiative

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is set to lend China €134 million (£122 million) to fund four projects that will help combat climate change.

According to the organisation, 830,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions will be prevented each year once the projects are fully operational.

Under the China Climate Change Framework Loan (CCCFL), which was signed in November 2007, the EIB is cleared to lend money to the non-European government.

The projects include switching the heating system in the city of Jinan from a steam to a water supply and constructing ten small-scale hydropower plants in Yichang City with a total capacity of 62 megawatts.

Since the agreement was signed two years ago, the EIB has funded 20 projects in the country at a total cost of €334 million. Under the CCCFL, China is eligible to receive up to €500 million to implement climate change mitigation projects.

Last week, Beijing announced its first ever emissions cut targets in a landmark step ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Denmark.

China has pledged a cut in carbon intensity, which means reducing emissions of carbon relative to economic growth by 40 to 45 per cent compared with 2005 levels by 2020.

Posted by Joseph Hutton