G20 funds fossil fuels $30 bn a year under the radar: analysis

Rich nations are funnelling cash through government-backed financial institutions to provide $30 billion to fossil fuel projects each year that "run counter to the Paris Agreement", a new analysis showed Thursday.

The export credit agencies (ECAs) of G20 countries currently provide more than 10 times more state-backed finance to oil, gas and coal projects abroad than they do to renewable energy schemes, the analysis said.

Under the Paris Agreement, emissions from these projects do not count as part of donor nations' carbon footprint.

ECAs are public entities that provide government-backed loans and insurance to overseas businesses.

Market monitor Oil Change International and Friends of the Earth America showed that G20 financing for coal delivered via ECAs under the Paris radar had increased as a percentage of energy project financing since the 2015 Paris treaty.

That translates to $7.1 billion annually in the years since the signing of the landmark accord that enjoins nations to slash carbon emissions.

"It's reckless and reprehensible for any government to still be providing billions in public finance for oil, gas and coal," said Bronwen Tucker, an analyst at Oil Change.

"It's even more offensive when these fossil fuel handouts come from the governments who are most historically responsible for the climate crisis."
"Japan's ECAs continue to support new coal projects; Canada's ECA is pouring money into tar sands, and many ECAs are jumping at the chance to support LNG in northern Mozambique and elsewhere."