EBRD board of directors to review 2030 transition strategy
The new strategy will deepen the bank’s green lending, with a cumulative transition finance target of €150bn by 2030
A €70m sustainability-linked loan to a Poland’s largest fibre infrastructure operator. A €192m financing package for three Romanian solar farms. €121m to support solar PV in Uzbekistan. An €11.5m loan to the Moldavian capital of Chisinau to improve energy efficiency in 30 kindergartens.
These recent lending decisions from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are a sign of things to come. By 2030, the EBRD is targeting total cumulative green financing of at least €150bn.
A new Green Economy Transition 2030 Strategy is under review by the bank’s board of directors. The strategy, if approved, will give the EBRD’s loan book a characteristic green tilt over the next four years.
Green tilt
The EBRD – established in the aftermath of the cold war – is collectively owned by 77 countries. Each shareholder is represented individually on its board, which determines overall direction of travel.
In January 2026, the bank revealed its annual investment figures. In 2025, EBRD invested a record €16.8bn across 640 projects. 56% of its investments (€9.4bn) were transition-linked.
“Under our strategic and capital framework 2021-2025, we aimed that at least half of our investment would be green in 2025. Last year, as in every year since 2021, we met this target”, says Sung-Ah-Kyun, head of policy research and partnerships at the EBRD’s climate group.
Over the coming months, the bank’s board will review a plan that will deepen that tilt.
The plan focuses on six key systems – clean energy, industrial energy transitions, climate-smart agriculture, transport decarbonisation, green urban infrastructure and deepening green capital markets.
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Vision 2030
EBRD’s lending predominantly targets the private sector. Last year, private sector firms accounted for 75% of investments.
Unsurprisingly then, the 2030 transition plan puts two stakeholders front and centre: private sector investees and the bank’s shareholders.
"The EBRD’s market-driven, private sector approach means we help our regions seize the opportunities of the green transition, while delivering strong financial returns for our shareholders", explains Russell Bishop, EBRD’s head of sustainable finance policy.
Bishop says the bank’s green lending is diversified across not only its key business lines (infrastructure, financial institutions and corporates) but also geographies.
“There is a good spread – whether it be for renewable energy, energy efficiency in industry, or credit lines which provide loans for green technologies", Bishop told Net Zero Investor.
The EBRD’s transition strategy takes cognizance of its context. The document outlines the economic case for the energy transition, particularly in EBRD’s countries of operation.
“The earth’s ecosystem is on red alert”, the plan warns.
The strategy cites, on multiple occasions, the bank’s mandate as the basis of its green lending push. “This strategy, therefore, has deep roots, building on the EBRD’s 35 years of experience in implementing its mandate”, it reads.
With public consultations on its 2030 transition strategy now concluded, the plan is now on its way to the top. Over the coming months, the bank's board will have a say on not only the feasibility of the plan but also its alignment with EBRD’s raison d’etre.
