Laura PIOVESAN is Director General of the Projects Directorate at the European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU’s long-term financing institution headquartered in Luxembourg. Composed of sector specialists, this directorate is responsible for project appraisal (including technical, economic, environmental and social issues) and the monitoring of project implementation, as well as for sector studies and policy – including the EIB’s climate, environmental and social policies. Laura is a graduate in Chemical Engineering from the University of Padova, Italy. Prior to joining the EIB she spent eight years at an Italian engineering company, first as Research Scientist and then as Industrial Economist.