According to the data from the Green Covid-19 Recovery and Resilience Plan for Europe report, produced by EY and funded by the European Climate Foundation, the three countries with the highest recovery awareness are France, Italy and Spain.
The report presented by the consultancy firm EY lists up to 2,000 investment opportunities in the 27 countries of the European Union, half of which could contribute in the short term to job creation and the achievement of the EU’s climate objectives and could benefit from the Next Generation EU recovery fund. These are projects in the energy, construction, transport, industry and land use sectors, which would only need additional funds to achieve financial closure in the next 24 months.
Weight of the construction sector
The number of building projects represents 30% of the total in France and 16% in Italy. Spain, which leads the list of European countries in terms of green investment and economic recovery, only has 6% of the projects invested in this sector.
Germany and Sweden also record a higher real estate weight in the overall initiatives (7% and 9% respectively).
Boost for the European economy
The list of more than 1,000 pre-selected plans represents an aggregate investment of €200,000 million, evenly distributed among the 27 EU countries. Moreover, the report shows that these opportunities amount to more than 2 million jobs. This figure represents a quarter of the job losses from the health crisis in Europe.
These initiatives would help to ensure a green and resilient recovery in the current economic situation, although it recalls that the 1,000 projects it has identified add up to funding of around €200,000 million, some of which could be financed by EU stimulus funds.
The proposals show a great diversity in size. More than 20% are considered small and require investments of up to €5 million. Around 30% of the selected ideas are developed by startups and SMEs and include solutions for sustainable mobility, green hydrogen, land reclamation or low-carbon building materials.