Fossil fuel commitments omit government’s development bank, campaigners warn
Date: 24 March 2021
Campaigns: Aid, Climate
The government’s commitment to stop supporting fossil fuel projects abroad has “significant exemptions” campaigners have warned.
CDC Group, the UK’s government-owned development bank, will be allowed to continue funding fossil fuel projects under the strategy.
Global Justice Now, an NGO campaigning for climate justice, warned the exemption could make CDC a “rogue institution.
The announcement is a “missed opportunity” for more serious progress reducing emissions. , Global Justice Now warns, and risks undermining the UK’s claims of climate authority ahead of hosting COP26 this year.
Daniel Willis, climate campaigner at Global Justice Now:
“It’s simply not true to say the government will no longer fund fossil fuel projects abroad. While today’s announcement is a huge win for climate campaigners, there are significant exceptions that will continue to pollute the planet.
“The UK’s own development bank, CDC Group, fully-owned by the government, will continue to fund fossil fuel projects, making it effectively a rogue institution exempt from these climate commitments.
“And this announcement will only guide, not dictate, the investment policies of other funds and banks that are major recipients of UK funding. This is a missed opportunity to make more serious progress reducing emissions that will undermine the UK’s claims of climate authority ahead of COP26.”
Ends
Notes for editors
- The UK’s commitment to stop supporting fossil fuel projects abroad was announced today alongside the North Sea deal:
- Government press release https://www.gov.uk/government/news/north-sea-deal-to-protect-jobs-in-green-energy-transition
- Government policy paper: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/north-sea-transition-deal
- Global Justice Now is a democratic social justice organisation working as part of a global movement to challenge the powerful and create a more just and equal world. We mobilise people in the UK for change, and act in solidarity with those fighting injustice, particularly in the global south. https://www.globaljustice.org.uk
Media contact
Joe Karp-Sawey, Media Manager
Tel: 07711875345
[email protected]
Global Justice Now
Photo: Vladimir Salman/Shutterstock
