(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
