Biden Mulls Fossil Fuel Finance Curbs That Could Outlast Trump
Source: Bloomberg
November 16, 2024 at 1:34 PM EST
The Biden administration is weighing a last-ditch push for an international agreement that would restrict financial support for foreign oil and gas projects before critical talks start in Paris. Landing the deal is seen as essential to deliver on a promise President Joe Biden made his first year in the White House.
But administration officials were still deciding on the final negotiating posture over the weekend, according to people familiar with the matter. That leaves little time before Monday’s negotiations among members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The deliberations were described by people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because they’re private.
At issue is a proposal by European nations to expand an existing, three-year-old ban on export credit agency support for unabated coal-fired power plants. Under the proposal advanced by the European Union, export credit agency financing, such as loans and guarantees, would be off-limits for most oil and gas projects. Disagreements among US officials and the US Export-Import Bank over the best approach has already effectively stalled action on the matter at the OECD for nearly a year.
A key consideration has been how new curbs would affect the bank, an independent agency whose charter prohibits denying financing against any particular industry, sector or business, the people said. The bank is up for congressional reauthorization in 2026. Representatives of the White House and the US Treasury Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday outside normal business hours.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-16/biden-mulls-fossil-fuel-finance-curbs-that-could-outlast-trump
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