Full Title: US$41 billion since Paris Agreement
Author(s): Greig Aitken
Publisher(s): Global Energy Monitor
Publication Date: June 7, 2021
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
As they come together at a summit in Brussels on June 15, the EU and the US have the opportunity to commit to a concrete timetable for phasing out their international public finance support for fossil energy via export credit agencies and development finance institutions. In doing so, they can turn off the taps which have disbursed over US$41 billion in financing for the coal, oil, and gas sectors since the adoption of the Paris Agreement at the end of 2015.
Specific phase-out commitments for such fossil fuel financing can also establish benchmarks for other countries in the lead-up to the UN Climate Summit (COP26) in November this year. Further, defined and time-bound commitments from the EU and the US can provide impetus and guidance for multilateral development banks in which they have significant shareholdings—such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development—to decarbonize their future investments by ending their support for oil and gas outright in upcoming investment policy reviews. These institutions, with EU and US direction and backing, can follow the example of the European Investment Bank and its far-sighted, financially prudent commitment to end support for all fossil fuel sectors by the end of 2021.