Today sees the release of the data on project financing from the nine major Multilateral Development Banks on the Energy Policy Tracker and a new Big Shift Global briefing, showing that, since the beginning of the pandemic, the Banks provided at least $12 billion to clean energy and $3 billion for fossil fuels.
public finance
Nearly 450 Organizations Call on Biden Administration to End Public Finance for Fossil Fuels
Over 400 organizations from 50 countries signing onto a new letter called on the Joe Biden administration to immediately end all U.S. public financing for fossil fuels, including natural gas.
EU foreign ministers commit to push for end to fossil fuel subsidies and finance; pressure builds on United States to follow suit
“Ending government support for fossil fuels is a no-brainer. Globally, governments are still propping up fossil fuels with huge sums of public money, behaviour that is incompatible with keeping global warming below 1.5ÂşC,” said Laurie van der Burg.
UK announces end to overseas fossil fuel finance, now other governments must follow suit
The United Kingdom’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, will commit to end the UK’s overseas fossil fuel financing “as soon as possible” at the Climate Ambition Summit. The phase-out of oil, gas, and coal financing applies to aid funding, trade promotion and export finance provided by UK Export Finance (UKEF), the institution that has come under scrutiny for its USD 1 billion investment in a controversial LNG project in Mozambique and for considering to finance the equally controversial East African Oil Pipeline.
It’s been 25 years since the Ogoni 9 — why are governments still funding fossil fuels?
To do anything less than stopping all public money to fossil fuels dishonors the memory and sacrifices of Saro-Wiwa, the Ogoni 9, and countless others who have risked and lost their lives to defend their lands and communities.
Doubling Back and Doubling Down: G20 Scorecard on Fossil Fuel Funding
In this new report we consider recovery commitments and pre-pandemic policies to rank G20 countries’ progress in phasing out support to fossil fuels. We find at least USD 584 billion per year between 2017 and 2019 in public support for fossil fuels from G20 governments.Â
European Development Finance Institutions fall short on climate ambition by allowing continued financing for fossil gas
European Development Finance Institutions fall short on climate ambition by allowing continued financing for fossil gasToday, one week ahead of the Finance in Common Summit, the Association of European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI) announced joint ambitions for climate action. The institutions commit to full Paris alignment by 2022 and to end coal and fuel oil financing. For gas finance, they commit to “generally exclude [such finance] by 2030 at the latest”, but leave the room open to gas financing beyond 2030 in certain cases.Â
Statement: UK’s overseas finance for fossil fuels should not leave any loopholes
For the UK to be credible as a COP26 host, it should end all overseas and domestic finance and subsidies for oil and gas production. Emissions from oil, gas and coal in already-operating fields and mines globally will push the world far beyond 1.5°C of warming.
Distributed Funds for Distributed Renewable Energy: Ensuring African Energy Access Finance Reaches Local Actors
Communities in Africa have generally contributed the least to climate change, been undermined the most by international trade and finance policies, and have a right to better international support for distributed renewable energy. In order to reach universal energy access before the 2030 target set by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, international public finance institutions have an urgent responsibility to provide more funding and better financial transparency and tracking for distributed renewable energy. Additionally, they have a responsibility to foster local participation in and ownership of distributed renewable energy initiatives. This briefing provides recommendations for how international public finance institutions can fulfill this responsibility, while revealing that from 2016 to 2018, fossil fuels received more than 3.5 times the support than all kinds of renewable energy did during this period.
Briefing: Overseas players should not dominate distributed renewable energy sector in Africa
A new briefing released by Oil Change International details how the growth of distributed renewable energy in Africa has so far failed to include locally-owned companies and initiatives. The sector has been growing rapidly since 2013 — especially for companies focused on “pay-as-you-go” solar home systems — but finance has overwhelmingly only been accessible for multinational companies that are based in Europe or North America or led by entrepreneurs from these regions, meaning profits are largely not remaining in Africa.