The European Investment Bank and the environment : the history of the EIB’s environmental strategy from the 1970s to the 1990s

Abstract

This article reconstructs the environmental strategy of the European Investment Bank (EIB) from the early 1970s to the early 1990s. By looking at an extensive body of primary sources held at the EIB archives, this paper brings an innovative contribution to the literature on the EIB and to the growing academic debate on the role of economic and financial actors in the genesis and development of the European Communities (EC) environmental policy. The article argues that four main factors pushed environmental issues onto the EIB’s agenda to the point that they became strategic and political priorities: the evolution of EC legislation, the institutional example of other financial institutions, pressure from environmental NGOs, and the proactive attitude of some of its management and staff.