Banks and G20 Nations Spent at Least $55 Billion a Year Financing Fossil Fuels

Group of 20 nations and main multilateral growth banks spent almost twice as a lot financing worldwide fossil gasoline initiatives as they did on clear power options throughout a current two-year interval, a report printed Tuesday by a pair of inexperienced teams revealed.

Oil Change Worldwide and Associates of the Earth U.S., together with dozens of collaborating local weather and environmental justice teams, discovered that from 2019 to 2021, members of the G20 and multilateral growth banks (MDBs) together with the World Financial institution and Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF) “supplied not less than $55 billion per 12 months in worldwide public finance for oil, gasoline, and coal,” an quantity “virtually two occasions greater than their help for clear power, which averaged solely $29 billion per 12 months.”

“This help immediately counters G20 nations’ dedication to align monetary flows to 1.5°C below the Paris settlement, in addition to their 2009 dedication to section out fossil gasoline subsidies,” the publication continues. “This worldwide public finance has an outsized impression on world power programs, as a result of it could supply government-backed credit score rankings, is commonly supplied at below-market charges, comes with massive analysis and technical capability, and indicators broader authorities priorities.”

“Proper now,” the report notes, “G20 nations and MDBs are overwhelmingly utilizing their worldwide public finance to prop up fossil gasoline corporations and extend the fossil gasoline period.”

The brand new report comes simply days forward of the United Nations Local weather Change Convention, or COP27, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Final 12 months, at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, dozens of nations and establishments together with america pledged to finish public financing of fossil gasoline initiatives by 2022 and absolutely prioritize a shift to scrub power funding.

Nonetheless, in accordance with the brand new report, america has spent a median of $2.6 billion on fossil gasoline investments, in contrast with simply $358 million on renewables, from 2019 to 2021.

“Because the world’s largest historic contributor to local weather change, america has an obligation to point out true management by upholding President [Joe] Biden’s dedication to shift worldwide public finance away from fossil fuels towards clear power,” Kate DeAngelis, worldwide finance program supervisor at Associates of the Earth U.S., mentioned in a statement.

“As a substitute the U.S. Export-Import Financial institution and U.S. Worldwide Growth Finance Company have bankrolled tens of billions of {dollars} to abroad fossil gasoline initiatives that hurt communities, kill staff and group members, and trigger environmental destruction,” she added. “Biden’s failure to publish a complete coverage for worldwide power finance means the U.S. is breaking its promise somewhat than ending this deleterious financing.”

Based on the report, export credit score companies “have been the worst public finance actors, offering seven occasions extra help for fossil fuels than clear power.”

On Monday, The Guardian printed a report that used Oil Change Worldwide’s Public Finance for Energy Database to element how the U.S. authorities is pouring billions of {dollars} into fossil gasoline initiatives in Africa whereas making comparatively restricted investments in renewable power.

“Worldwide public finance is urgently wanted to construct a globally simply power transition. Nevertheless it can’t play this vital function if G20 nations and MDBs proceed to funnel $55 billion yearly into climate-wrecking fossil gasoline initiatives,” Claire O’Manique, one of many new report’s lead authors and Oil Change Worldwide’s public finance analyst, mentioned in a statement.

“The local weather motion will proceed to carry rich nations accountable for his or her function in funding the local weather disaster, and demand they transfer first and quickest to section out their fossil gasoline manufacturing, cease funding fossils, and pay their justifiable share of a globally simply power transition,” she added. “It’s nicely previous time that public finance {dollars} are spent to treatment fossil gasoline colonialism by funding actual options.”