On the eve of the One Planet Summit in Paris, France, as governments and stakeholders gather to discuss the urgent need for climate finance, over 180 civil society groups released a letter being sent to leaders of multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, and leaders of G20 governments.
The letter calls for multilateral development banks and G20 governments to commit to phase out subsidies and public finance for fossil fuels as soon as possible, except in extreme cases where there is clearly no other viable option for increasing energy access to the poor. This total phaseout should be achieved by no later than 2020.
Signatories including Oil Change International, Les Amis de la Terre – Friends of the Earth France, Christian Aid, Greenpeace, Reseau Action Climat – Climate Action Network France, WWF International, BankTrack, Climate Action Network International, Global Witness, 350.org, Germanwatch, CIDSE, and the Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development were part of more than 190 organisations from over 55 countries around the world who signed the letter.
To the leaders of the multilateral development banks and G20 nations,
As more than 190 civil society organizations from over 55 countries, we urge all multilateral development banks and G20 nations to commit to phase out subsidies and public finance for fossil fuels as soon as possible, with a total phaseout by no later than 2020. This ongoing government support for fossil fuels undermines global climate mitigation and adaptation efforts.
As leaders gather in Paris, France for the One Planet Summit, climate impacts around the globe are mounting in severity each year, and the poorest and most vulnerable continue to be hit first and hardest. The Paris Climate Agreement’s objective to “align finance flows with low-emission, climate-resilient development and to shift public finance away from high-emitting infrastructure” is more urgent than ever before.
But instead of funding the solution, G20 governments and multilateral development banks still overwhelmingly fund the problem. For the most recent three years where data is available, G20 public fossil fuel finance averaged $71.8 billion annually – nearly 90 times the rate of global assistance for small island developing states for resilience to climate change and disasters at only $800 million annually. And the multilateral development banks financed projects with fossil fuel exploration components at $1.8 billion annually – three times the rate of all global climate-related development finance to small island developing states, at $550 million annually.
Given their importance to the world’s energy trajectory both in their financing of energy projects and their crucial signaling role for the broader investment community, we urge multilateral development banks to:
Likewise – given their annual commitment since 2009 to “phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, we urge G20 leaders to make good on this promise at their 2018 summit in Argentina, and to:
190+ GROUPS: STOP FUNDING FOSSILS AT ONE PLANET SUMMIT
Multilateral Development Banks and G20 Nations Must Stop Funding Fossils
As more than 190 civil society organizations from over 55 countries, we urge all multilateral development banks and G20 nations to commit to phase out subsidies and public finance for fossil fuels as soon as possible, with a total phaseout by no later than 2020. This ongoing government support for fossil fuels undermines global climate mitigation and adaptation efforts.
As leaders gather in Paris, France for the One Planet Summit, climate impacts around the globe are mounting in severity each year, and the poorest and most vulnerable continue to be hit first and hardest. The Paris Climate Agreement’s objective to “align finance flows with low-emission, climate-resilient development and to shift public finance away from high-emitting infrastructure” is more urgent than ever before.
But instead of funding the solution, G20 governments and multilateral development banks still overwhelmingly fund the problem. For the most recent three years where data is available, G20 public fossil fuel finance averaged $71.8 billion annually – nearly 90 times the rate of global assistance for small island developing states for resilience to climate change and disasters at only $800 million annually. And the multilateral development banks financed projects with fossil fuel exploration components at $1.8 billion annually – three times the rate of all global climate-related development finance to small island developing states, at $550 million annually.
Given their importance to the world’s energy trajectory both in their financing of energy projects and their crucial signaling role for the broader investment community, we urge multilateral development banks to:
- Set a clear timeline for the phase out of public finance for oil, gas, and coal production, starting with the elimination of all finance for fossil fuel exploration and coal, except in extreme cases where there is clearly no other viable option for increasing energy access to the poor. Fossil fuel finance should be phased out no later than 2020.
- Commit to transparency and accountability by tracking and publishing greenhouse gas emissions of all investments, making these figures publicly available on an annual basis, and establishing a clear timeline to achieve a science-based reduction of portfolio-wide emissions.
Likewise – given their annual commitment since 2009 to “phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, we urge G20 leaders to make good on this promise at their 2018 summit in Argentina, and to:
- Set a clear timeline for the full and equitable phaseout by all G20 members of all fossil fuel subsidies by 2020, starting with the elimination of subsidies for fossil fuel exploration and coal.
- Set a clear timeline for the full and equitable phaseout by all G20 members of domestic and international public finance for oil, gas, and coal production by 2020, except in extreme cases where there is clearly no other viable option for increasing energy access to the poor. Fossil fuel finance should be phased out no later than 2020.
- Commit to be fully transparent about all fossil fuel subsidies in a consistent format made publicly available on an annual basis, to increase transparency of reporting on investment in fossil fuel production by publicly-owned financial institutions, and to complete fossil fuel subsidy peer reviews by the end of 2018.
Recent assessments have found that: a) G20 nations are providing billions in public finance to fossil fuel production, at more than 4 times the rate they are supporting renewable energy;[1] b) multilateral development banks funded more than $5 billion in oil, gas, and coal production in 2016, after the Paris Climate Agreement was reached in December 2015;[2] and c) G20 governments spend more than $444 billion each year on support to fossil fuel production alone.[3] All of this public support to fossil fuels comes as we must rapidly shift investment towards clean energy, and despite clear evidence that we need to keep at least 80% of existing fossil fuel reserves in the ground if we hope to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
We urge multilateral development banks and G20 leaders to take the decisive steps toward ending public support for fossil fuels outlined above. Governments of the richest countries in the world, and their key institutions must establish an ambitious 2020 deadline for the phase out of subsidies and public finance for fossil fuels, in order to drive sustained and scaled-up climate action.
Footnotes:
Sincerely,
[192 organisations from 58 countries and several regions, presented alphabetically]
Abibiman Foundation – Ghana Act Alliance EU – Belgium Adivasi Mulvasi Astitva Raksha manch – India African Climate Reality Project – South Africa Africa Youth Coalition Against Hunger Sierra Leone – Sierra Leone AKSI for Gender, Social and Ecological Justice – Indonesia All Nepal Peasant's Federation – Nepal All Nepal Women's Association – Nepal Alliance Sud – Alliance of Swiss Development Organisations – Switzerland Alofa Tuvalu – Tuvalu & France Alternative Information Development Centre – South Africa Amazon Watch – United States Les Amis de la Terre – Friends of the Earth France – France Amsterdam Fossielvrij – The Netherlands Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute – New Zealand Appropriate Technology for Living Association – New Zealand Arab Youth Climate Movement Lebanon – Lebanon Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development – Asia Asian Regional Exchange for New Alternatives – South Korea Bangladesh Jatiyo Sramik Jote – Bnagladesh Bangladesh Krishok Federation – Bangladesh Bank Information Center Europe – The Netherlands BankTrack – The Netherlands Both ENDS – The Netherlands Bretton Woods Project – United Kingdom Bulig Visayas – Philippines Campaign for Climate Justice Nepal – Nepal Carbon Action Aotearoa – New Zealand CARE International – Climate Change and Resilience Platform CDL Bangladesh – Bangladesh CEMBI-USB – Venezuela Centar za Ekologiju i Energiju – Bosnia and Herzegovina Center for Biological Diversity – United States Center for Environmental Justice – Sri Lanka Center for International Environmental Law – United States Centre for Human Rights and Climate Change Research – Nigeria CHANGE – Vietnam Change Partnership – International Christian Aid – United Kingdom CIDSE – International Clean Air Action Group – Hungary Climate Action Hobart – Australia Climate Action Network Europe – Europe Climate Action Network International – International Climate Alliance Switzerland – Switzerland Climate and Development Advice – Germany Climate and Development Lab – United States The Climate Justice Project – United States CliMates – France CNCD-11.11.11 – Belgium Collectif Causse Méjean – Gaz de Schiste NON ! – France Columbus Community Bill of Rights – United States CONAJEC – Coordination Nationale des Jeunes pour l'Environnement et le Climat – Burkina Faso Concerned Citizens against Climate Change – The Netherlands Coordination Office of the Austrian Bishop's Conference for International Development and Mission – Austria Counter Balance – Czech Republic Debt Watch – Indonesia Derecho Ambiente y Recursos Naturales – Peru DIB – Denmark Les Dindons de la Farce – France East Africa Climate Change Network – Kenya Ecoaction – Ukraine EcoEquity – United States Economic Justice Network Sierra Leone – Sierra Leone eco-union – Spain EKOenergy – Finland Engajamundo – Brazil Environics – India Environmental Defence Canada – Canada Environmental Justice Foundation – United Kingdom Epikaizo Care Initiative – Tanzania EquityBD – Bangladesh European Environment and Health Youth Coalition – Hungary Focus Association for Sustainable Development – Slovenia Fossielvrij NL – The Netherlands fossil-free.ch – Switzerland Fossil Free Göttingen – Germany Fossil Free Uppsala – Sweden Frederick Mulder Foundation – United Kingdom Freedom from Debt Coalition – Philippines FreshWater Accountability Project – United States Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland – United Kingdom Friends of the Earth U.S. – United States Fundacion Madariaga – Argentina Fundacja Instytut Rozwoju Innowacyjnej Energetyki – Poland Fundacja Rozwoj TAK – Odkrywki NIE – Poland GARJAN-Nepal – Nepal GEFONT Trade Union Federation – Nepal Germanwatch – Germany Gitib – Philippines Global Catholic Climate Movement – International Global South Initiative – Nepal Global Witness – International Greenpeace Grupo de Financiamiento Climático para Latinoamérica y el Caribe (GFLAC) – Mexico Health and Environment Alliance – Belgium Himalaya Niti Abhiyan – India Honor the Earth – United States Human Rights Alliance Nepal – Nepal Human Rights Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand – New Zealand iMatter – United States Indian Social Action Forum – India InspirAction USA – United States Institute for Policy Studies – Climate Justice Program – United States Jagaran Nepal – Nepal Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society – Japan JATAM – Indonesia Kazdagi Association for the Preservation of Natural and Cultural Resources – Turkey Kerala Independent Fishworkers Federation – India Khazer Ecological NGO – Armenia Kiko Network – Japan Koalicja Klimatyczna – Poland KRuHA – People's Coalition for the Right to Water – Indonesia LDC Watch – International Legambiente – Italy Leave it in the Ground Initiative – International Living Legacies – New Zealand Madden Sainsbury Foundation – Australia Market Forces – Australia Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns – International McCulloch Consulting Limited – United Kingdom Mediterranean Youth Climate Network – Morocco Migrant Forum in Asia – Philippines Milieudefensie – The Netherlands Mom Loves Taiwan Association – Taiwan Monitoring Sustainability of Globalization – Malaysia Mouvement Ecologique – Friends of the Earth Luxembourg – Luxembourg Nadi Gati Morcha – India National Federation of Hawkers Bangladesh – Bangladesh National Federation of Women Hawkers – India National Hawkers Federation – India Natural Resources Defense Council – International NGO Ecoclub – Ukraine North Country Veterans for Peace – United States Oil Change International – International Oil Money Out – United States Our Climate Declaration – New Zealand Our Rivers Our Life – Philippines Overseas Development Institute – United Kingdom Pacific Islands Climate Action Network – Fiji Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum – Pakistan Pakistan Rabita Committee – Pakistan Philippine Movement for Climate Justice – Philippines Plateforme de la Société Civile sur le Changement Climatique – Haiti Polski Klub Ekologiczny Okręg Mazowiecki – Poland Power Shift Network – United States Reacción Climática – Bolivia REFEDD – French Student Network for Sustainability – France REK Rowlands & Partners – United Kingdom The Renewables – New Zealand Reseau Action Climat – Climate Action Network France – France River Basin Friends – India Rootskeeper – United States Rural Reconstruction Nepal – Nepal Sanlakas – Philippines Sawit Watch – Indonesia SEAFish for Justice – Indonesia Sierra Club – United States Sierra Leone School Green Club – Sierra Leone Sisters of Mercy of the Americas' Institute Justice Team – United States Stop Petróleo Vila do Bispo – Portugal Solidaritas Perempuan – Indonesia SUPRO – Bangladesh South Asian Alliance for Poverty Eradication – Nepal Southern Oregon Climate Action Now – United States SustainUS – United States Swiss Youth for Climate – Switzerland Taiwan Environmental Protection Union – Taiwan TENMYA 21 – Tunisia Trade Un. Turtle Island Restoration Network – United States Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Binghamton Green Sanctuary – United States Unnayan Onneshan – Bangladesh Urgewald – Germany Voice – Bangladesh Wodonga Albury Towards Climate Health – Australia Woman, Development, Future Public Union – Azerbaijan Women Engage for a Common Future – Germany WoMin African Alliance – Africa WWF – International Youth for Environment, Education and Development Foundation – Nepal Youth Movement for African Unity – Ghana Youth for Ocean! – France ZERO – Associação Sistema Terrestre Sustentável – Portugal Zukunft statt Kohle – Future instead of Coal – Switzerland 11.11.11 – Belgium 350 Africa – Africa 350 Ankara – Turkey 350 Montgomery County – United States 350 New Orleans – United States 350 New Zealand – New Zealand 350.org – International
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