The European Investment Bank (EIB), the bank of the European Union (EU) and the world’s largest multilateral lender, said it is ready to invest up to €1 billion (US$998 million) each year in green and sustainable development projects in Indonesia.
The EIB opened its representation office for the Southeast Asia and Pacific region in Jakarta on 9 Setpember in a ceremony attended by government officials, business leaders, and diplomatic corps. “I am delighted to open our new regional representation office in Jakarta. It reinforces Team Europe’s presence in Indonesia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The EIB office will contribute to fostering new, multi-million euro investment opportunities in projects that will help the region tackle its most urgent investment needs, all in a green, sustainable way. In Indonesia alone we are ready to invest up to €1 billion in projects each year and I invite the country’s public and private sectors to consider our invitation to cooperate on the ambitious green and sustainable development of the country and its economy. We want to establish ourselves as a reliable partner of Indonesia and Southeast Asia and help ensure that the country and the region grow and develop in a way that is green, sustainable and empowering, limiting the effects of climate change, and strengthening the national independence of EU partner countries,” said EIB Vice President Kris Peeters in a statement.
To hit its 2060 net zero pledge, Indonesia will need to almost triple energy investment by 2030, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest report early September. That means an extra $8 billion in investment a year by the end of this decade compared with a business-as-usual pathway.