Canada’s export bank, Export Development Canada (EDC), already provides on average nearly fourteen billion dollars in support to oil and gas companies each year. As a result, Canada ranks second highest among G20 countries in public finance for fossil fuels. Now the federal government is using EDC to channel even more support to the oil and gas sector, which has been intensely lobbying the government for a bailout package of up to $30 billion.
Author: OCI Team
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.
Campaigners: G20 financial and political support for fossil fuels rises amidst COVID-19 crisis
Grassroots campaigners at a press briefing yesterday said political leaders are failing to ensure a just and sustainable recovery, as new data shows that the world’s 20 richest countries have committed more than USD 150 billion of public money to support fossil fuels since the start of the COVID-19 crisis.
G20 Recovery Packages Benefit Fossil Fuels More Than Clean Energy
Decisions taken in response to the COVID-19 crisis today will lock in the world’s development patterns for decades. With policy decisions made on a daily basis, information about how public money is being spent can be hard to follow. That is why a consortium of 14 expert organizations came together to track energy-specific responses by G20 governments.
G20 Governments Have Committed USD 151 Billion to Fossil Fuels in COVID-19 Recovery Packages
Data made public today on the Energy Policy Tracker, a new website tracking climate- and energy-related recovery policies, shows a total commitment of at least USD 151 billion from G20 governments in support of fossil fuels.
Past Time for Action: Subsidies and Public Finance for Fossil Fuels in the Netherlands
Amidst a climate crisis and global pandemic, it’s essential that countries develop public finance packages that phase out fossil fuel production and invest in a just, green transition toward renewable energy that benefits communities and industry workers. While the Netherlands has committed to redirect financial flows from fossil fuels to climate action, this report reveals that the Dutch Government continues to provide billions — at least €8.3 billion per year — in taxpayer backed support for the production and use of fossil fuels.
Report: The Netherlands fails to meet 2020 deadline for ending fossil fuel subsidies
Amidst a climate crisis and global pandemic, a new analysis from Friends of the Earth Netherlands and Oil Change International reveals that the Dutch government continues to provide billions — at least €8.3 billion per year — in taxpayer backed support for the production and use of fossil fuels. By ending fossil fuel subsidies, the Netherlands could free up resources to invest in a just and green recovery from COVID-19, whilst reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 7.7% by 2025.
Oil Change International Response to Atlantic Coast Pipeline Cancellation
ACP’s cancellation is the exception that proves the rule. The truth is that fossil fuel companies have worked with federal agencies to permit dozens of projects across the U.S. by ignoring and circumventing laws that protect communities and natural resources and placing corporate profits above all else.
Oil Change International Response to Dakota Access Pipeline Shutdown
Federal and state agencies can no longer allow the oil and gas industry to run roughshod over the law, the rights of Indigenous communities, and future generations’ right to a stable climate.