Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have urged the Export Finance Leadership Coalition to work hard to help avert global climate change.
On April, 14, 2021, Europe and the UK governments launched the Export Finance for Future (E3F) coalition to harness public export finance as a key driver in the fight against climate change.
The E3F is a demonstration by these governments that they are willing to both increase support for sustainable and climate-friendly projects and impose restrictions on fossil fuels overseas.
However, whereas global CSOs including Uganda’s Environment Governance Institute welcomed this as a step in the right direction, they are urging leaders of these countries to show a higher level of ambition in dealing with the climate change challenge.
The CSOs say the principles committed to by this coalition fail to adequately address export finance for fossil fuels and as such, fail to address the urgency of the climate crisis, continuing that rather than adding new commitments, the principles are simply a reiteration of what most signatories are already doing.
“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 said in a joint statement.
“The E3F principles do not indicate when the coalition will stop funding fossils. The science is clear: there is no time left for a ‘progressive phase out’ of support for the oil and gas sector. An immediate halt on public money, including export finance, for new fossil fuel projects and associated infrastructure is required.”
The statement was issued jointly by Action Aid Netherlands, Both ENDS Netherlands, Milieudefensie Netherlands, ActionAid Denmark, Sustainable Energy Denmark, Swedwatch Sweden, Friends of the Earth France, Reseau Action Climat France, Urgewald, Germany, Re:Common, Italy, Friends of the Earth Europe, Friends of the Earth USA and Above Ground Canada.
Others are Jubilee Australia, Solutions For Our Climate South-Korea, FARN Argentina, Environment Governance Institute Uganda, AbibiNsroma Foundation Ghana, Les Amis de la Terre Togo, Oil Change International and Big Shift Global, International.
