BRUSSELS, November 27 (WNM) - The new European Investment Bank (EIB) Investment Report shows that the European Union invested EUR 158 billion in climate change mitigation in 2018. At 1.2% of GDP, this is now marginally less than the United States (1.3%) and little over a third of China’s performance (3.3% of GDP).

While the United States leads in climate-related R&D spending, China has recently quadrupled its spending, overtaking the EU. Europe’s weak performance in climate-related R&D is a threat to its competitiveness, given the importance that still-immature technologies will have in the transition.

The Investment Report therefore shows, that, although substantial progress has been made, climate action investment in the EU is not yet on track. To achieve a net zero-carbon economy by 2050, the EU must raise total investment in its energy system and related infrastructure from 2% to 3% of GDP on average.

The EIB annual report on Investment and Investment Finance (https://www.eib.org/de/publications/investment-report-2019) is a product of the EIB Economics Department, providing a comprehensive overview of the developments and drivers of investment and its finance in the European Union.

The report draws extensively on the results of the annual EIB Investment Survey (EIBIS). It complements internal EIB analysis with contributions from leading experts in the field.