UKEF to cease coal project support but current oil and gas projects will emit equivalent of 17 coal plants or 69m tonnes

(Energy Live News, London, 24 January 2020) UKEF is financing fossil fuel projects overseas that are estimated to emit around 69 million tonnes of greenhouse gases every year, according to a new investigation by BBC Newsnight and Greenpeace. Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently announced the government will put an immediate end to using taxpayers’ money to support coal mining and coal-fired power stations in developing countries. The investigation found that no coal plants have been financed since 2012 but all the fossil fuel projects supported by UKEF which are oil and gas-related will emit the equivalent greenhouse gas emissions from 17 coal plants. A report from the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) last year found 96% of UKEF’s energy investment between 2013 and 2017 went to fossil fuel projects – a fifth of all its investments. The Catholic charity CAFOD pointed to the fact that Johnson said the UK was still going to help countries with oil and gas production, not phase out all forms of public support for fossil fuels overseas