After decades of shifting deadlines and refusing to say the ‘F’ word, the pledge 39 countries and institutions made at COP26 to stop funding fossils abroad by the end of 2022 was a much-needed breath of fresh air. Signatories to this “Glasgow Statement” included Global North and Global South governments alike. It was the first international political commitment focused on ending public finance not just for coal, but also for oil and gas. Governments promised to instead ‘fully prioritize’ support for the clean energy transition.
Today at 13h15 at the UK pavilion, we will hear an update on signatories’ progress. Tomorrow at 15h00 in the Memphis room civil society and others will highlight key next steps. If signatories make good on their pledge, this will directly shift at least USD 28 billion a year out of fossil fuels and into renewables. And as we have seen with coal finance agreements, this initial pact could create a domino effect — making finance free of oil and gas the norm rather than the exception.
But for more fossil dominoes to fall, we first need governments to keep this promise. Of the 16 signatories that have major international public finance for energy, six have published policies that are aligned or nearly aligned with the Glasgow Statement (UK, Denmark, European Investment Bank, France, Finland, Sweden). All of these put a halt to most fossil fuel investments, including new extraction and LNG infrastructure. But two signatories have new policies that leave major loopholes and need to be revised (Belgium, Netherlands). And four of the largest signatories (Germany, Italy, Canada, and the United States) are still missing in action. For this pledge to keep its momentum, we need new policies without loopholes. We also need new signatories. ECO notes that Norway, Australia, and Mexico are conspicuously absent from the pledge, and all eyes are on them to join.
Wealthy governments keep saying they do not have enough money to pay their fair share of loss and damage, climate finance, and debt cancellation. ECO reminds these governments there is no shortage of money, just a shortage of political will. Fully meeting the Glasgow Statement is one key action — alongside others like windfall taxes, the Bridgetown Agenda to make more space for debt cancellation, and ending domestic fossil fuel subsidies — that can free up funding for climate solutions.
The science is clear, 1.5°C will stay out of reach if public finance for fossil fuels continues. According to the IEA, the solutions to the energy and climate crisis are one and the same: a faster transition away from fossil fuels and towards efficient, reliable, and affordable renewable energy. Following the fossil fuel industry into a neocolonial ‘dash for gas’ in Africa or CCS & hydrogen fairy tales are traps we can’t afford.
For the Glasgow Public Finance Statement to once again be a good news story from COP, large signatories like Germany, Italy, Canada, and the United States must stop dragging their feet.