Source · Select Committees · International Development Committee
Recommendation 68
68
The FCDO told us that the Government’s new fossil fuel policy “determines the UK’s voting...
Conclusion
The FCDO told us that the Government’s new fossil fuel policy “determines the UK’s voting position at the boards of Multilateral Development Banks and can be used to influence the investment policies of other development financial institutions (such CDC Group PLC and the Private Infrastructure Development Group) that receive UK government funding.”147 140 Bond & CAN-UK (CDC0045), CAFOD (CDC0039), ODI (CDC0035) 141 Q79 [Dario Kenner] 142 Bond & CAN-UK (CDC0045), CAFOD (CDC0039), Global Justice Now (CDC0049), E3G (CDC0027), Tearfund (CDC0031) 143 Q96 [Dario Kenner] 144 Q87 [Dario Kenner] 145 Bond and Climate Action Network UK (CAN-UK) (CDC0045), Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland (CDC0042), Global Justice Now (CDC0049), Tearfund (CDC0031) 146 Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (CDC0021) 147 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (CDC0016) 26 Global Britain in demand: UK climate action and international development around COP26
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
At COP26, the UK launched the Energy Transition Council, with over 20 governments and over 15 international institutions participating, to support countries’ transitions to clean power. The Council’s Rapid Response Facility is mobilising technical assistance for 20 countries. The UK’s COP Presidency energy transition campaign has focused on accelerating the global transition from coal to clean power by: • Growing the coalition of countries, sub-national governments and businesses committed to phasing out unabated coal power, building on the Powering Past Coal Alliance; • Ending international coal finance, with recent commitments from the G20, including South Korea, Japan, and China; • Strengthening the international offer of finance and assistance for clean power so that it is the most attractive option for new power generation; • Establishing a new financial framework to accelerate the just transition from coal in major coal economies like South Africa and India; • Driving ambition on product energy efficiency standards by doubling the efficiency of four key products sold globally by 2030. This will also help to meet Sustainable Development Goal 7 to ‘ensure access to affordable, reliable and modern energy for all by 2030’. The UK Government no longer supports the extraction, production, transportation and refining of crude oil, natural gas, or thermal coal overseas, with very limited exemptions to the policy that will be granted only in limited circumstances. The exemptions are applicable to a small number of situations and are necessary to make this policy work in the real world and allow an orderly transition away from fossil fuels. They reflect the current state of renewable technologies and markets, ensure that neither taxpayers nor developing countries are disadvantaged and, most importantly, are in line with achieving the Paris temperature goals and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). Projects are considered on a case-by-case basis, with the exemptions being monitored by an internal cross Whitehall governance group to ensure compliance and relevance with the UK’s fossil fuel policy.