UK seeks alliance to end public finance for coal, oil and gas projects overseas

(Climate Home News, 1 Oct 2021) The UK government is working to launch a coalition of countries and financial institutions committed to end public funding for fossil fuels abroad at UN climate talks in Glasgow this November.

The Cop26 host has repeatedly said it wants the summit to “consign coal to history” and has been working with Italy to seek agreement among major economies to end unabated coal power.

But the UK’s ambition goes beyond coal. It is seeking to build an alliance of nations and institutions willing to commit to end the financing of oil and gas projects internationally.

The UK is working with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to convince both developed and developing countries along with large financial institutions such as multilateral development banks to sign a statement on aligning public finance with accelerating the clean energy transition.

They are asking donors and lenders to prioritise support for clean energy, to end public finance for fossil fuels and to press others to do the same. Climate Home News understands the UK is hoping to launch the statement on the energy-themed day at Cop26 on 4 November.

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Climate Home News, 1 Oct 2021: UK seeks alliance to end public finance for coal, oil and gas projects overseas