FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 15th, 2021
Contact:
laurie@priceofoil.org
CSOs: “Export finance leadership coalition fails to lead”
BRUSSELS – In response to the launch of a new Export Finance for the Future coalition (E3F), 21 CSOs from 14 countries released a statement criticizing the lack of ambition from the coalition. While welcoming the initiative as a step in the right direction, the CSOs, including Oil Change International, state that the coalition fails to take the urgent action that is required to meet climate goals:
“Rather than adding new commitments, the E3F principles are simply a reiteration of what most signatories are already doing: not supporting the coal sector, increasing support for ‘green products’, and being more transparent about their support for oil and gas. For this coalition to make a real difference, it needs to take decisive action to end all export finance for fossil fuels, following at least the level of ambition shown by the UK, which put an end to virtually all new export finance for fossil fuels last month.”
The CSOs also note that a few countries are embarrassingly absent from the coalition, including the US and Canada. In January, the White House published an Executive Order stating that it would “promote ending international financing of carbon-intensive fossil fuel-based energy,” including finance provided by the US export credit agency, US EXIM. (Export–Import Bank of the U.S.) And while Canada’s export finance institution, Export Development Canada (EDC), was among the first ECAs to adopt a climate change policy, it remains a top provider of export support for fossil fuels.
The NGOs call on the E3F members – which include France, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands – to follow the UK’s example by putting an immediate end to new export finance for fossil fuels. Instead, the members should shift their resources toward solutions, whilst ensuring other countries follow suit before COP26 in Glasgow.
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More Information:
- A report detailing actions Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) can take to implement cleaner finance policies: https://priceofoil.org/content/uploads/2021/04/Briefing-for-Policy-Makers_-Greening-Export-Credit-Agencies.pdf
- Oil Change International response to United Kingdom’s announcement to virtually end overseas fossil fuel finance: https://priceofoil.org/2020/12/12/uk-announces-end-to-overseas-fossil-fuel-finance/