Social and Green EIB coalition recommendations for the EIB’s ETS2 Frontloading Facility

Civil Society Organisations, including members of the Social and Green EIB coalition, published recommendations addressed to the Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) regarding the proposed programme to pre-finance projects related to the delayed Social Climate Fund, the “ETS2 Frontloading Facility”.

The signatories stress that the programme, which targets social measures in the building  and transport sector as well as SMEs, should strengthen structural support for vulnerable households. Financing projects should follow closely the objectives, safeguards, and targeting requirements of the Social Climate Fund (SCF) Regulation. This also requires the EIB to ensure strict compliance with its Environmental and Social Standards and conduct rigorous environmental, climate and social due diligence to mitigate the distributional impacts of ETS2 from the outset.

The letter further highlights the need to develop the programme with a bottom up approach, by creating broad public awareness,involving civil society, enhancing transparency and a more prominent role for the state and/or local authorities in the design of projects. We call for effective measures to prevent adverse social impacts, particularly in the areas of building renovation and social leasing schemes for electric vehicles, with a clear focus on addressing energy poverty and transport poverty and supporting a just transition.