The Export-Import Bank of the United States (US Ex-Im) has voted to increase renewable energy financing and review fossil fuel projects.
The vote took place at US Ex-Im’s annual conference held in Washington and comes as a reaction to a 2009 lawsuit involving charities Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth who alleged that the export credit agency (ECA) provided more than US$32bn to fossil fuel projects without due consideration under the US’s National Environmental Policy Act.
Phil Cogan, spokesman for US Ex-Im, says: “It’s pretty significant. Just having a carbon policy is farther than any ECA in the world.”
However, US Ex-Im will not be entirely stopping financing fossil fuel projects, as Cogan explains: “Our mission is to sustain US jobs by helping finance US exports, if we unilaterally stop supporting fossil fuel projects, that will shift jobs to other countries; it’s a balance.”
US Ex-Im has vowed to increase their diligence for high intensity carbon projects. In this case, high intensity projects are those that produce between 700 and 850 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt of energy produced.
High intensity projects will have to meet certain criteria before US Ex-Im provides funding, such as ensuring the use of appropriate technology.
Last Updated March 15, 2010
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