The British Parliament has called for an end to financing overseas petrochemical projects from 2021

British lawmakers have called on the government to end funding fossil fuel projects in developing countries by 2021, which can only strengthen their dependence on fossil fuels and hurt the planet's chances of
reducing global warming temperatures.

The UK Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee (a Select Committee on the House of Commons) released a report on Monday investigating the UK's Export Credit Agency (UKEF), saying that "UKEF's support for fossil fuel energy projects is unacceptably high, particularly in low- and middle-income countries
.
" "Specifically, UKEF apparently provided £2.
6 billion ($3.
3 billion) of financial support
to the energy sector between 2013/14 and 2013/14.
Of this, 96%, or £2.
5 billion, went to fossil fuel projects and £2.
4 billion to fossil fuel projects
in low- and middle-income countries.

"Achieving net zero emissions by 2050 would mean ending our dependence on fossil fuels," said Mary Creagh, chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, "The government claims the UK is a global leader in tackling climate change, but behind the scenes, the UK's Export Finance Scheme is releasing billions of pounds of taxpayer money to poor countries to develop fossil fuel projects
.
" This makes them dependent on high-carbon energy sources
for decades to come.
This is unacceptable
.
It is time for the government to end Export Finance's support
of fossil fuels.
”

Specifically, the Environmental Audit Committee called on the UKEF to cap lending for fossil fuel projects and backed the arguments put forward by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to urge a "recalibration"
of the UK's International Fund for Poverty Internationale's climate policy.
In addition, the committee called on the UKEF to end its support for new fossil fuel projects by 2021 and align its work with achieving net-zero emissions by 2050
.

The UK's support for renewable energy projects in low- and middle-income countries is far lower than that for fossil fuel projects in these countries, and it supports renewable energy projects
in high-income countries, the commission said.
Specifically, in 2017/18, 96% of UKEF's energy support to high-income countries went to renewable energy and 4% to fossil fuel projects, while only 0.
6% of UKEF's energy support went to renewable energy projects in low- and middle-income countries and 99.
4% to fossil fuel projects
.

"This support for fossil-fuel energy projects does not respect the Paris Agreement, which is a pathway that promises to align financial flows with low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development," the commission wrote
in its findings.