EU lending arm enlists ECB's Lagarde for new climate council

By Marc Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union's lending arm has created a Climate and Environment Advisory Council to advise on how its green projects are run and enlisted European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde among other high-profile members.

The European Investment Bank is active in around 160 countries and describes itself as the world's largest multilateral lender for climate action projects.

It recently adopted its Climate Bank Roadmap to deliver a planned 1 trillion euro sustainable investment programme set to run until the end of the decade.

EIB President Werner Hoyer said climate change required "a rapid global response" and thanked Lagarde for joining the group, which also held its first meeting on Wednesday.

EU countries gave the final seal of approval in June to a law to make the bloc's greenhouse gas emissions targets legally binding.

The ECB has also said it will take greater account of climate change in its core policy decisions and will adjust its lending rules and corporate bond purchases to incorporate climate change criteria.

(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Alexander Smith)