UKEF to offer ECA support for most vulnerable climate change countries

(Reuters, London, 8 November 2022) Britain plans to offer new loans to support countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including the option to defer debt repayments in the event of catastrophes, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. The country's export credit agency, UK Export Finance (UKEF), will provide such loans to low-income countries and small island developing states. Details of the plans will be given at the COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The proposals would allow vulnerable countries to defer debt repayments to free up resources to fund disaster relief, the ministry said. Reuters has noted that promises by companies, banks and cities to achieve net-zero emissions often amount to little more than greenwashing according to the UN as it set out proposed new standards to harden net-zero claims. With the world in the midst of the first global energy crisis – triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine – the IEA's World Energy Outlook 2022 (WEO) provides indispensable analysis and insights on the implications of this profound and ongoing shock across the globe.