Download the implementation tracker briefing (PDF)
Updated March 2023 – At COP26 in Glasgow, 34 countries and 5 institutions pledged to end direct international public finance for unabated fossil fuels by the end of 2022 and prioritize their public finance fully for the clean energy transition. This was the first international political commitment that focused on ending public finance for oil and gas in addition to coal. If countries and institutions follow through on their commitment, this will directly shift USD 28 billion a year out of fossil fuels and into clean energy, which would help shift even larger sums of public and private money.
The signatories of this commitment include some of the largest historic providers of international public finance, including G20 members Canada, Germany, Italy, United States, United Kingdom, and France. New research finds that if all G20 countries and MDBs shift their fossil support to clean, this would nearly triple their international clean energy finance to $85 billion.
This briefing, which will be updated regularly as new policies come out and new signatories join the commitment, tracks implementation efforts and assesses whether countries are on track to keep their COP26 promise.
There have been signals of countries potentially backsliding on their COP26 commitment by investing in gas and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to replace Russian supply. However, civil society representatives and the International Energy Agency have warned that Russia’s war in Ukraine and the compounding debt, climate, and energy price crises mean that now more than ever governments must prioritize public finance for reliable, affordable, and clean energy and energy efficiency solutions.
This briefing shows that while a number of signatories are on track or getting on track to end their financing for fossil fuel projects abroad, others are dragging their feet.