ECAs, COVID-19 and Climate: Recommendations to Ensure that Economic Support Protects People and the Planet

(ECA Watch members, 10 August 2020) This 9 page report finds that while ECA responses to COVID-19 are still quickly evolving, it’s now clear that these institutions are:

•  Providing more favorable financing terms;
•  Expanding the geographic scope of the projects and companies they are supporting, including new domestic coverage that was very rare for ECAs prior to COVID-19;
•  Failing to ensure proper transparency and oversight of who is getting this support and how it is being used;
•  Increasing risks of corruption, human rights abuses, and environmental destruction;
•  Potentially increasing support for megaprojects like Mozambique LNG that has already received billions from ECAs; and
•  Potentially supporting many oil and gas companies that were already financially unviable even before the COVID-19 crisis.

The report’s recommendations include that ECAs must:

• Ensure that their COVID-19 responses are in line with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degree Celsius target and the Sustainable Development Goals;
• Continue progress on climate policies and protections, including explicitly excluding support for fossil fuel related projects;
• Promote transparency by providing detailed, public information on all support provided at the time the support is provided; and
• Uphold all standards on social and environmental due diligence