“In recent years, we have been increasing our business in key sectors while reducing their emissions,” said the Global Head of Sustainability and CIB at BBVA, Javier Rodríguez Soler. “We set decarbonization targets for eight key sectors and are reducing the absolute and relative emissions of these sectors. And we are doing so while increasing our financing business with these clients,” he stated at the Institute of International Finance (IIF) European Summit in Paris.
Javier Rodríguez Soler explained that BBVA is accompanying these clients and sectors in their decarbonization by financing the most efficient green technologies. He also stressed the importance of supporting these technologies, as they are essential in order to drive innovation.
The Global Head of Sustainability and CIB at BBVA underscored the importance of investing in climate funds. “BBVA has invested over €100 million in six funds, which in turn invest in hundreds of companies. By interacting with these funds and companies, we are learning to identify new climate technologies that we will support with financing,” he said.
In his opinion, it will mainly be the private sector financing this transition - something that it will do “because it is profitable”. Meanwhile, “the public sector should offer fiscal frameworks and incentives, reduce bureaucracy and especially, support technologies that are not yet widespread, such as hydrogen.”
Global Head of Sustainability and CIB at BBVA, Javier Rodríguez Soler.
In his opinion, decarbonization policies and incentives are fundamental, especially in the initial stages of these technologies. In this regard, he referred to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the U.S. and its counterpart in the European Union, the Net Zero Industry Act, which he hopes will have a major impact just like the U.S law has had. He offered Mexico as an example, which is benefiting from the IRA thanks to its treaty with the U.S. “Due to these incentives, a lot of investors are going to Mexico for different reasons: labor costs, more hours of sunlight, wind, etc.” In his opinion, the U.S incentives are bringing investment across the Atlantic from European companies.
The Vice President of the European Investment Bank, Ambroise Fayolle; the Chief Sustainability Officer at ABN AMRO, Solange Rouschop; and the CEO of Qair, Louis Blanchard, also participated in this session.
Global investment in clean energy, including renewable energy, low emission fuels, electrification and new technologies set a new record of $1.7 trillion in 2023, but this is still far below what is needed to reach carbon neutrality, according to the IIF.
The 2024 IIF European Summit in Paris explored financing of the transition as a driver of economic growth and innovation. According to the Institute of International Finance, as governments and companies from across the EU incorporate sustainability considerations in their economic models and value chains, banks, insurance companies and global asset management firms are reevaluating their fundamental business strategies.
Global investment in clean energy, including renewable energy, low emission fuels, electrification and new technologies set a new record of $1.7 trillion in 2023, but this is still far below what is needed to reach carbon neutrality, according to the IIF.
For two days, over 40 renowned panelists participated in this European summit, including the president of the Jacque Delors Institute and EU Rapporteur on the Future of the Single Market, Enrico Letta; the chair of the European Banking Authority, José Manuel Campa; the governor of the Bank of France, François Villeroy de Galhau; the chair of BNP Paribas, Jean Lemierre; and the chair of Unicredit, Pietro Carlo Padoan.