NIB, together with the American-Scandinavian
Foundation, arranged an economic colloquium on 7 April 2008 at
Scandinavia House in New York City with the topic "Climate Change: A
Discussion of Environmental Issues from Business and Political
Perspectives". Among the speakers were Ms Gro Harlem Brundtland, UN
Special Envoy on Climate Change; Mr Jorma Ollila, Chairman of the Board
of Nokia and of Royal Dutch Shell; and Mr Bernt Reitan, Executive Vice
President of Alcoa. Mr Åkerholm stresses the importance of international
cooperation between both political decision-makers and the business
community to initiate and proceed with concrete measures aimed at
diminishing harmful effects on the environment. He points out that due
to their multilateral status, International Financial Institutions are
especially well equipped to support actions to prevent climate change. "NIB is operating worldwide with loans outstanding
in 38 countries and is analysing potential investment projects from a
long-term perspective. Our Nordic and Baltic member countries have
called for NIB to assume a more prominent role in bringing about
economic, ecological and social benefits. Environmental improvements
should be seen as long-term investments, not as costs, and
competitiveness and a healthy environment as interconnected," Mr
Åkerholm adds. In the beginning of 2008, NIB decided to set up a
new EUR 1 billion lending facility for the financing of projects
mitigating climate change. NIB is an International Financial
Institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank provides
long-term loans on market terms to private and public projects that
strengthen competitiveness and enhance the environment. The
environmental loans in 2007 amounted to EUR 368 million. NIB has the
highest possible credit rating and acquires the funds for its lending
by borrowing on the international capital markets. The Bank has some
160 employees and total assets amounting to 20 billion euros. NIB\'s
headquarters are located in Helsinki, Finland.
P.O.Box 249 (Fabianinkatu 34), FI-00171 Helsinki, FINLAND, +358 10 618 001, [email protected]