EU ECA fossil fuel phase-out tracker reveals Member States are lagging commitment to Paris Agreement goals in export credit policies

(Both Ends, Utrecht, 4 April 2024) The EU ECA fossil fuel phase-out tracker sheds light on the concerning lack of harmony between EU Member States' export credit climate policies. The report was updated on April 17th, following new responses by Member States on their respective policies. Despite increasing global efforts towards sustainability, export credit agencies (ECAs) play a key role in providing loans, guarantees and insurance backed by public budgets to companies from their countries, including polluting industries. At present, ECAs continue to be the world’s largest international public financiers of fossil fuels, sorely misaligned with climate goals. In March 2022, during the French Presidency of the Council of the EU, Member States made a crucial commitment to end public finance through ECAs for fossil fuel energy projects by the end of 2023. Recent findings reveal that half of the 23 EU member states with ECAs are fulfilling their commitments, while the others lag behind. Our findings show that only eight EU Member States, such as Denmark, France and the Netherlands, have fully implemented policies to phase out public support for fossil fuel projects. Conversely, five countries, including Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Portugal, have no formal policy but claim not to finance such projects. However, a worrying trend is emerging, with 10 Member States failing to honour their commitments. Some, such as Croatia, the Czech Republic and Greece, have yet to establish a policy to phase out export credit support for fossil fuels. Others, such as Austria and Italy, have published policies that are not in line with climate science and the mandatory 1.5°C pathway.