Integration of climate mitigation and resilience in key sectoral strategies

Paris alignment

Reasoning

Paris aligned

Mitigation and adaptation considerations are mostly well integrated across the EIB’s sectoral approaches, though progress could be made on energy systems resilience. The 2022 Transport Lending Policy and 2023 Water Sector Orientation set a highly encouraging precedent in terms of integrating the ambitious objectives set by the EIB’s Climate Bank Roadmap (CBR) 2021–2025. For “transformational”, this integration should now be integrated into further sectoral strategies’ reviews.

	Mitigation	Resilience
Energy	The EIB successfully phased out unabated fossil fuel investments from its portfolio by the end of 2021 – the first MDB to achieve this milestone. The EIB’s Energy Lending Policy focuses on energy efficiency, the decarbonisation of energy supply, innovative technologies, and enabling infrastructure, aligning with the need to achieve deep decarbonisation of energy systems by mid-century.	The EIB’s energy policy has a limited focus on the integration of resilience and adaptation measures. The EIB should provide more information on how it plans to ensure the climate resilience of energy systems, both within the European Union and globally, considering the projected increase in climate threats to the energy sector.
Transport	The EIB’s Transport Lending Policy aligns with the Paris Agreement and Climate Bank Roadmap, aiming for full transport sector decarbonisation. It addresses challenges through investments in electromobility, hydrogen, and biofuels, emphasising urban mobility, alternative fuel infrastructure, and infrastructure resilience. The policy represents a transformative approach.	The Transport Lending Policy underscores the need for systemic resilience in current and future transport infrastructure, focusing on short-term and long-term effects, making it the most complete of the EIB’s sectoral strategies. Priorities include fair mobility, transport safety, and upgrading existing transport assets.
Water	The 2023 Water Sector Orientation integrates the objectives of the European Green Deal and Climate Bank Roadmap. Mitigation objectives are identified for water sector-related activities, including efficiency of power, investment in renewable energy and improvement of wastewater treatment processes. However, the EIB falls short of integrating these within an explicit sectoral deep decarbonisation objective.	Climate resilience of water systems is explicitly presented as the overarching goal of the Water Sector Orientation. Priorities include improving physical resilience of assets, developing non-conventional water sources, and investing in flood protection, including through nature based solutions.
Cities	While the Bank does not have a dedicated cities strategy, the Climate Bank Roadmap highlights sustainable cities as a focus area and urban development documentation lists eligible mitigation projects, emphasising nearly zero-emissions public transport, energy-efficient buildings, and circular and smart cities.	According to the Climate Adaptation Plan, the EIB prioritises strengthening climate resilience in cities. Focus areas include urban regeneration, water and stormwater management, disaster risk management, and climate-informed urban design. While there is progress in integrating climate considerations, a comprehensive overarching strategy is recommended to ensure a systematic approach to achieve systemic resilience of cities.
Agriculture	The EIB does not have a dedicated agriculture sector strategy. Nonetheless, reduction in carbon-intensive agricultural practices and business models are highlighted and prioritised throughout policy documents with implementation measures put forward. However, there is a lack of clarity on standards and safeguards relating to the deep decarbonisation of the sector.	Various policy documents set out adaptation priorities, including climate-resilient agriculture, water practices, crop and climate risk insurance, and promoting sustainable production and food value chains. Despite positive steps, a dedicated strategy with quantified targets and indicators is needed to address the systemic resilience of the agriculture sector.

Explanation

Within the EIB Climate Strategy, the Bank commits to the development of new sector policies where relevant (as determined by climate sensitivity) and the update of existing ones when triggered by material changes in economic conditions, policy or regulation. The EIB commits these new policies will refer to long-term green transition pathways and be inscribed within a 1.5 °C scenario in accordance with the goals and principles of the Paris agreement.

The EIB’s CBR and Climate Adaptation Plan provide sector-level orientations for its climate-related considerations and Paris alignment of activities. In some cases, this builds on established sectoral lending policies, such as the 2019 Energy Lending Policy, while others have been developed more recently, including the 2022 Transport Lending Policy and the 2023 Water Sector Orientation. However, these documents still present some gaps. Notably, the Energy Lending Policy largely fails to address climate resilience of energy infrastructure and services. Nonetheless, the Bank’s energy, transport and water sector policies are among the most advanced in integrating climate mitigation and adaptation considerations.

However, this progress has not been consistent across all sectoral strategies. For example, the EIB has not published a lending policy for the cities and urban development sector, or for the agriculture sector. While EIB documentation shows that climate mitigation and adaptation concerns are considered in their sectoral approaches, its policies could be further strengthened by comprehensive dedicated strategies.

The sectoral strategies primarily focus on intra-EU activities, in line with the EIB’s mandate. However, the establishment of EIB Global in 2022 and the expansion of operations outside the EU have created a need for clearer strategies and guidelines for extra-EU operations. According to the mid-term review strategy of the CBR, EIB Global will explore opportunities to develop sector-based and programmatic approaches. However, this process has seemingly not yet come to fruition. We encourage the EIB to accelerate this process, in light of the need for climate mitigation and adaptation actions targeted at regional and local contexts.

Energy

Energy is a major sector of activity for EIB: at the end of 2023, it represented  15.5% of the stock of loans (up from 15.1% in 2022 and 14.8% in 2021).

In 2019, the EIB approved a new Energy Lending Policy, with a focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy deployment. A notable commitment within this policy is the phase-out of investments in fossil fuels, with limited exceptions, by the end of 2021. The EIB’s 2023 Energy Overview Report confirms the achievement of this target, with no support for fossil fuel projects in 2022, as verified by external stakeholders. The EIB is the first MDB to achieve this – a significant and encouraging development in line with its ambition to be the EU’s climate bank.

The energy lending policy document outlines four core components that will steer the EIB’s activities in the energy sector, facilitating the complete alignment of the Bank’s energy sector initiatives with the Paris Agreement: energy efficiency; decarbonisation of energy supply; innovative technologies; and energy infrastructure development and deployment.

The policy aims to enable deep decarbonisation of energy systems by mid-century. The policy operates on the logic that the fossil fuel financing exclusion will serve as a safeguard against carbon lock-in and extension of the lifetime of emissive assets. Additionally, the strategy highlights that investment decisions for Transmission & Distribution will be based on performance considerations and remaining economic life, assessed through factors such as system generation cost, network losses, energy distribution, renewable capacity integration, curtailment of renewable energy sources, CO₂ emissions, and alternative project options.

Within the EU, the EIB views national energy and climate plans (NECPs) as an opportunity to assess and guide its strategic role in a national context. The EIB will expand its thematic approach to support the energy transition in countries outside the EU, guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with a particular focus on improving access to energy through increased technical assistance, as well as financial support (both reimbursable and non-reimbursable). The EIB particularly seeks to go beyond merely supporting existing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by supporting projects that strengthen NDCs towards alignment with the 1.5 °C goal. Nonetheless, the EIB still needs to clarify how it plans to effectively support the strengthening of national NDCs in practice. In addition, the Bank needs to outline specific strategies for achieving energy goals beyond the EU. While the EIB Global Strategic Roadmap reiterates the goals of the Energy Lending Policy without setting new targets, more detailed information could be integrated, in particular when defining sectoral approaches for EIB Global in the context of the CBR review process.

The 2023 mid-term review of the EIB Energy Lending Policy shows progress in the implementation of its priority areas – energy efficiency, renewable energy and electricity networks – with 98% of energy lending labelled as climate finance.

The review highlights new decarbonisation pathway objectives adopted by the EU since 2019, including the 2019 European Green Deal roadmap, the 2020 Fit for 55 package, and the 2022 REPower EU policy. This underscores the EIB’s strong support for these initiatives through accelerated investments. Notably, the EIB aims to increase energy lending by EUR 30 billion by 2027, with this target raised to EUR 45 billion in July 2023 under the EIB’s REPowerEU+ initiative. The expanded focus includes eligible sectors such as state-of-the-art net zero energy technologies and the extraction, processing, and recycling of critical raw materials in line with the EU’s Green Deal Industrial Plan.

Beyond the EU, the EIB states it has deepened dialogue and support for the implementation of NDCs that are more ambitious on energy across an increasing number of states. Energy projects outside the EU totalled around EUR 1 billion/year, with approximately a quarter of these funds allocated to energy access. This includes the EIB’s participation and technical assistance offered in the Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) with South Africa and Indonesia, as well as its contributions to the Demand side management, Social Infrastructures, Renewables and Energy Efficiency (DESIREE) blending platform, co-developed with the European Commission. DESIREE provides capacity-building, technical assistance and blended finance to support innovative business models.

Despite these efforts, the European Commission has warned that “climate threats to the European energy system already exist and are projected to increase”, underscoring the need for energy systems to adapt to growing physical risks. However, the integration of resilience and adaptation into the EIB’s Energy Lending Policy and its mid-term review remains limited. While the policy acknowledges the need for climate-resilient energy systems, it does not specify the concrete actions the EIB is taking to address these risks. The mid-term review makes only broad reference to aligning energy lending policies with the CBR and its low-carbon and resilience framework. Given the escalating climate risks, it is crucial that the EIB’s Energy Lending Policy be updated to better integrate resilience and adaptation in its next iteration.

Transport

Transport is the EIB’s largest sector of activity, accounting for 29.2% of its loan portfolio by the end of 2023. It was also the leading sector for climate action financing in 2023, at EUR 13.3 billion (31.8% of total EIB climate action financing).

Recognising the critical need for deep decarbonisation, the EIB aims to support shifts in transportation modes, the adoption of alternative fuels, and the systemic resilience of transport infrastructure. The Transport Lending Policy, introduced in 2022, is the only sectoral strategy published after the Climate Bank Roadmap 2021–2025. This policy provides a framework aligned with the EIB’s Paris alignment pledge, ensuring investments facilitate the full decarbonisation of the transport sector. In line with the EU’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, it targets a 90% reduction in transport emissions by 2050, with milestones for 2030, 2035, and 2050.

• The EIB identifies several key challenges for the transport sector, including:
• decarbonisation
• doing no significant harm to the environment
• resilient infrastructure
• resource efficiency and the circular economy
• sustainable cities
• funding and financing.

Other challenges include safety and security, connectivity, equal accessibility, and digitalisation and automation.

To address these challenges, the EIB has prioritised mitigation and adaptation investments, including:

Urban mobility: Support is centred around mass transport schemes (such as high-capacity rail) as well as active and shared mobility schemes to provide efficient alternatives to road vehicle access to urban areas. Priority will also be given to regional and interurban active mobility projects. This is particularly welcome considering the need to reduce the need for motorised travel.[1]

Zero-emission transport vehicles: This includes priority financing for electric rail rolling stock (though it is important to note that this will not necessarily be a priority outside the EU). This priority also extends to fleet renewal for inland waterway transport and the deployment of zero direct CO₂ emissions ships and aircraft through pilot and demonstration projects. Notably, the CBR excludes financing for new airport capacity (both new airports and existing airport expansion), aircraft running on fossil fuels, and vessels powered by heavy fossil fuels. This exclusion was expanded to all LNG and other fossil-fuel-driven vessels in the mid-term review of the Climate Bank Roadmap. These developments represent best practice that should be further integrated within the MDB system.

Alternative fuel infrastructure: In line with EU deployment targets, the EIB aims to provide focused support to alternative fuel infrastructure, including electricity recharging stations and hydrogen refuelling stations.

Intermodal and multimodal transport and completion of networks: The EIB commits to increasing support for passenger and freight rail, roads and inland waterways infrastructure development, upgrade and rehabilitation, as well as the development of strategic port infrastructure. Within the EU, this will be guided by the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) plans.

Resilience of transport infrastructure, including the rehabilitation and upgrade of existing assets: Resilience priorities identified are the resilience of transport infrastructure, democratising access to mobility, and stepping up transport safety and security across all models.

While the policy acknowledges the necessity of modernising and phasing out fossil fuels through clean technologies, pricing reforms, and sustainable infrastructure, concerns remain over its technology-driven approach. In particular, the reliance on hydrogen introduces uncertainty if such technologies fail to scale efficiently. Greater emphasis on the Avoid–Shift–Improve framework, prioritising emissions avoidance and modal shifts, could strengthen the sustainability of low-carbon transport strategies.

Water

Water and wastewater management represent a relevant area of investment for the EIB, accounting for 6.4% of its loan portfolio by end of 2023. This amounts, on average, to more than EUR 2 billion per year of water infrastructure within and outside the EU.

The EIB released a new Water Sector Orientation in 2023. The document is aligned with the objectives of the European Green Deal policy plan (and therefore the Paris Agreement) and incorporates the orientations detailed in the CBR, the Climate Adaptation Plan and the Environment Framework. Climate change and its impacts are key investment drivers, placing mitigation and building climate-resilient water systems at the core of the strategy.

Accordingly, the document identifies focus areas for which project financing will be prioritised (which broadly correspond to those previously expressed in the CBR and the Climate Adaptation Plan). This is determined by an internal system to track climate action and environmental sustainability financing. More clarity regarding how the system was developed and what criteria it uses is welcome.

Focus areas include:

• Domestic and industrial water supply: On mitigation, EIB identifies the need to reduce water systems’ energy consumption, including through reducing non-revenue water (water lost or unaccounted for), improving equipment and system efficiency, and reducing average water consumption. On adaptation, the EIB identifies the need to improve physical resilience of assets, and to develop non-conventional sources of supply in water-stressed countries.
• Wastewater collection and treatment: The EIB identifies a strong potential for mitigation in the wastewater sector, including through improving wastewater treatment processes, removing storm water from wastewater collection, and optimising power demand and supply. On adaptation, key areas for investment include the projects related to resource efficiency in wastewater reuse facilities and separation of combined sewer systems.
• Flood protection: The EIB recognises the need to address increased flooding and sea level rise caused by the adverse impacts of climate change through flood protection projects including early warning systems. Nature based solutions are identified as key projects to counter flooding in conjunction with protecting and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems.
• Agricultural water: The EIB identifies the need for agricultural water users to reduce overall pumping volumes and related energy consumption through the replacement, where possible, of external energy demand by decentralised renewable energy generation and investment in efficient pumps and pump control systems. The EIB also plans to scale up investment in efficient irrigation systems, which allow changes in soil management that increase carbon sequestration. For adaptation, the EIB identifies the need for new irrigation and drainage systems, as well as stormwater collection systems to deal with increasingly unreliable rainfall and address the need to reduce water seepage and evaporation losses.

According to the CBR, the new dedicated objective under the EU Taxonomy for the water sector offers greater potential for prioritisation both inside and outside the EU. In developing countries, water sector investment priorities will be on supporting NDCs and National Adaptation Plans.

The Water Sector Strategy is part of the European Green Deal, which identifies decarbonisation plans and associated climate change investment priorities. However, the EIB falls short of explicitly integrating the full decarbonisation of the water sector within its sectoral strategy. However, the focus on systemic resilience of water systems is central within the strategy, which is highly encouraging. The EIB could further strengthen this strategy by presenting quantified targets and indicators for the climate mitigation and adaptation measures.

Notably, the EIB Group Strategic Roadmap 2024–2027 also announced the future launch of a new flagship water programme. The programme will concentrate and reinforce existing resources for investment in infrastructure and efficient water management technologies to address climate change mitigation and adaptation to floods, droughts and rising sea levels. Details regarding the substance of this programme, including investment scope, priorities and targets, remain publicly unavailable.

Cities

The EIB does not have a dedicated cities and urban development strategy.  

According to the Bank, the EIB does have a strategic document approved in 2016, the Review of Urban Lending, which has shaped its strategic approach.[2] However, as this document has not been published, it is not available for independent review, which limits the ability to assess its content and implications in detail.

Nonetheless, “sustainable cities and regions” is one of the focus areas for green investments in the EIB Group’s CBR. The EIB states the need to “green the wave” of urbanisation through smarter and greener buildings and infrastructure. It further outlines support for cities’ and regions’ investment programmes on housing, and strategic urban transport. However, there are no more details within the CBR as to what these priorities amount to.

The EIB Climate Adaptation Plan recognises cities’ vulnerability to extreme weather and prioritises building climate resilience in urban areas. Key focus areas include:

• Urban regeneration and water management, incorporating nature based solutions to address flooding, heatwaves, storm surges, and droughts.
• Protecting urban infrastructure and buildings through climate-conscious design, planning, and renewal.
• Disaster risk management, with measures such as risk reduction, forecasting, monitoring, warning systems, emergency services, and training facilities.

The EIB website on urban development provides further information on the range of mitigation projects that are eligible for investment, such as nearly zero-emissions public transport, energy-efficient buildings, and circular and smart cities. The EIB also links its lending for social housing with energy efficiency requirements referring to the Paris Agreement. A factsheet on the EIB’s contribution to the urban agenda lists climate adaptation as a key theme, and states that a significant proportion of the EIB’s urban lending is considered climate finance.

On buildings, the CBR states that all building projects within the EU are required to comply with the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, to ensure alignment with the EU Taxonomy criteria. Beyond the EU, new buildings will be required to achieve international or best local construction and energy performance standards.[3]

The EIB has also committed to support climate action in cities through advisory services, which has led to the launch of, and support for, a range of initiatives. The Circular City Funding Guide offers European urban actors with information on financing and funding sources for circular economy projects. Outside the EU, EIB provides technical assistance to the Africa Sustainable Cities Initiative to enhance the access to finance and enable investment for secondary cities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Besides this, the City Climate Finance Gap Fund, implemented by the EIB and World Bank, supports cities and local governments in extra-EU countries to prepare climate-smart plans and investments.

While the incorporation of climate considerations in the sector is visible and comprehensive, the EIB’s priorities in the sector are not clear due the lack of a dedicated strategy. This runs the risk of diluting the Bank’s impact and additionality. To ensure a comprehensive overview of sector priorities, the EIB should publish an overarching lending policy or strategy covering cities and urban development. The document should emphasise the need for deep decarbonisation in line with a 1.5 °C scenario.

Agriculture

The EIB does not appear to have a sectoral strategy document covering agriculture. A 2021 document on agriculture, bioeconomy and rural development provides a limited 5-page overview of the Bank’s activities in the sector. The EIB states that the Bank’s focus in terms of investments in the sector includes sustainable and inclusive rural development, climate-smart production, and resource efficiency.

Furthermore, “Agriculture and the bioeconomy” is one of eight key priorities under the EIB Group’s 2024–2027 Strategic Roadmap, in which the EIB commits to step up financial support for climate change adaptation and mitigation. In line with this, the EIB is exploring the launch of a new pan-European agricultural programme, which would include:

• Increased advisory support on climate and environmental sustainability.
• A venture debt programme to cover, among others, the development of payment for ecosystem services and the scaling up of sustainable biofuel and biomaterial technologies.
• The development of climate adaptation-linked insurance mechanisms, building on national schemes to support climate risks across member states.

However, currently, EIB lending in the agricultural sector is still limited. In 2022 and 2023, agriculture, fisheries and forestry accounted for 1.1% of the loan portfolio,  a slight relative increase from 0.8% in 2019, 0.9% in 2020, 1.0% in 2021. Outside the EU, agriculture and food security make up a more substantial, but still relatively small, portion of total lending volumes –less than 10% in 2022. Food-systems related emissions represent 34% of GHG emissions per year globally, of which 71% comprises agricultural production and land-use activities. There is therefore ample room for the EIB to scale up its impact. To do so, the EIB should consider developing a standalone strategy for the agriculture and livestock sector, with quantified, time-bound targets and indicators.

The CBR includes only limited commitments regarding the agricultural sector. The EIB commits to ensure that activities do not expand in areas of high carbon stock or high biodiversity value, with the implementation framework outlined in its Environmental and Social Standards and the PATH framework for counterparty Paris-alignment. In these documents, “raising of animals” is considered a high emitting sector with special requirements. The CBR also identifies that the “conversion of land, notably for agricultural and urban activities, that directly (e.g., through cropping or animal rearing activities) destroys high-value carbon sinks and ecosystem services which enhance resilience” and will not in general support such projects. More information is required about how the EIB operationalises this provision in practice, including the implications for commodity-driven deforestation, e.g. livestock farming using soy as feed.

The CBR also commits to no longer supporting export-oriented agribusiness models relying on long-distance air transport. This is a positive step towards mitigating the climate impacts of food production. However, a more comprehensive analysis is needed to evaluate the broader climate impact of food production, as transport is a minor factor for most food products. Additionally, clearer information on the thresholds and conditions for this commitment is needed.

On livestock lending, the CBR states the EIB is “considering focusing its support for the meat and dairy industries on investments that are based on sustainable animal rearing contributing to improved GHG efficiency”. According to the CBR, this requires regional adaptation measures and benchmarking based on context-specific best practices rather than international standards. While this is a positive step, there is no follow-up of this progress in the relevant progress reports of the CBR or in its mid-term review. This raises concerns about safeguards in countries which might have weak environmental governance structures. Moreover, it is important to consider whether this singular focus on GHG “efficiency” of meat and dairy as the only source of protein is sufficient given the GHG contributions of this sector and the potential of alternative source of protein, as well as issues of animal welfare and biodiversity. The EIB should clarify its position on this issue, detailing how it plans to implement this commitment and whether it aims for an overall reduction in emissions or simply greater efficiency.

With regard to adaptation, the roadmap states that EIB investments will prioritise better access to climate-resilient agriculture and water practices, and crop and climate risk insurance. It also supports the adoption of sustainable agriculture to enhance food security in developing countries and strengthen global carbon sinks, in line with the EU Farm to Fork Strategy.

The EIB Climate Adaptation Plan identifies “sustainable production and food value chain that can withstand extreme weather” as a key investment focus. It outlines areas for investment that combine supply-side actions – such as resource-efficient production, transport, and processing – with demand-side interventions like promoting healthier, less resource-intensive food patterns and reducing food loss and waste. While this is an interesting focus, further details are needed on the concrete steps the EIB will take to prioritise these initiatives. A further focus area is enhancing climate resilience of farming systems, and aligning farming systems to the Good Agricultural Practices.

Another laudable focus adopted by the EIB is on “small-scale or subsistence farmers, and especially female or young farmers”. In 2022, the EIB signed a EUR 500 million loan to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to improve food security and reduce poverty in rural areas. In 2023, the EIB further disbursed EUR 1.4 million to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), for technical assistance to SMEs and smallholder farms to implement climate-resilient agricultural programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Finally, the EIB will focus on researching and developing innovative technologies to reduce crop vulnerability to climate hazards and minimise resource use within bioeconomy systems. However, without a dedicated sectoral strategy or specific targets and indicators, it is challenging to determine how significantly these priorities influence the EIB’s current actions in the agricultural sector.

Recommendations: 

• The EIB should strengthen its energy sector strategy to address climate vulnerability of energy systems. For this, the EIB could draw on the approach adopted by the Intra-American Development Bank (IDB) for its Energy Sector Framework.
• The EIB transport sector strategy should comprehensively adopt the Avoid–Shift–Improve framework, explicitly ensuring that financing for non-electric rolling stock in countries outside of the EU is only supported when electric alternatives are demonstrably unavailable.
• In terms of agriculture, the EIB should go beyond its current focus on GHG “efficiency” of meat and other agricultural products by adopting a target for reducing overall agricultural sectoral emissions in line with the EU’s GHG emissions reduction targets for 2040 and net zero by 2050. To that end, the EIB could integrate more clearly the growing market opportunities presented by alternatives sources of protein.
• Following the excellent example set by the Transport Lending Policy, introduced in 2022, the EIB should extend this approach to develop updated, sector-specific strategies across all areas of its operations. These strategies should align with the EIB’s Paris Alignment pledge and provide clear frameworks to facilitate the full decarbonisation and climate resilience of each sector. This would ensure that all sectors benefit from the same level of strategic clarity, ambition, and alignment with climate goals as demonstrated by the transport sector.
• Although industry sector lending has not been analysed as part of this assessment, the EIB is central to the EU’s effort to drive a just transition to climate neutrality in the whole economy and European industry will play a key role in that regard. European political priorities for 2024-2029 will rely on the EIB, among others, to support decarbonisation of the EU’s industrial support, boost European manufacturing of clean technologies, and contribute to providing affordable energy for all. The EIB’s upcoming Climate Bank Roadmap’s revision should detail how the EIB will build on lessons learned to support the EU block’s industrial strategy objectives.

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[1] See the “Energy efficiency strategy, standards, and investment” metric for more information.

[2] Information obtained directly from the Bank.

[3] For more information and analysis regarding buildings energy efficiency performance requirements, see the “Energy efficiency strategy, standards, and investment” metric.