Nearly 450 Organizations Call on Biden Administration to End Public Finance for Fossil Fuels

(Oil Change International, Washington, 18 MArch 2021) In a newly released letter, nearly 450 organizations called on the Biden Administration to immediately end all U.S. public financing for fossil fuels, including natural gas. Signatories to the letter span six continents and include major U.S. civil society organizations, international groups, and organizations in the Global South concerned about the impacts of U.S. support for overseas fossil fuel projects. U.S. public finance for overseas fossil fuel projects averaged more than $4 billion (USD) annually over the past decade, according to Oil Change International data, at times exceeding $10 billion USD in a single year. This finance was distributed primarily through the U.S. Export-Import Bank and the U.S. Development Finance Corporation, formerly the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Dozens of groups from many countries where the U.S. has financed fossil fuel projects — including Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Georgia, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Turkey, Uruguay, and elsewhere — have signed onto the letter urging the Biden Administration to make good on it’s commitment to end high-carbon finance.