Where now for the Project Bonds Initiative?

As the pilot phase of the Project Bond Initiative descends into acrimony amid the closure of its flagship pilot project, the recent downgrading of the Castor bonds to junk status and the Spanish government’s announcement that it expects to compensate investors for the project, it is hard to imagine that this is what the European Investment Bank (EIB) had in mind when it launched its much-vaunted Project Bond
Initiative.

After the fallout from the Castor project in Spain, more systemic weaknesses begin to emerge in the initiative. As more projects are earmarked, a worrying bias towards fossil fuel infrastructure can be noticed, which is at odds with the EU’s long terms goals towards a decarbonised economy. It is time the EIB put aside its usual intransigence and recognises that the Project Bond Initiative is not fit for purpose.

Read the full policy briefing below.