The UK Prime Minister announced during a virtual United Nations summit, the government’s direct support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas will end as soon as possible.
After the announcement was made during the Climate Ambition Summit on Saturday, just five years since the landmark Paris Climate Agreement, the UK is to become the first in the international forum G-20 to end its overseas oil and gas funding in order to accelerate climate change efforts.
The new policy is expected to see the UK end export finance, aid funding, and trade promotion for new crude oil, natural gas, or thermal coal projects, with ‘very limited exceptions’, among which is allegedly the UK’s Mozambique gas project.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said ahead of the summit: “Climate change is one of the great global challenges of our age, and it is already costing lives and livelihoods the world over. Our actions as leaders must be driven not by timidity or caution, but by ambition on a truly grand scale.
“That is why the UK recently led the way with a bold new commitment to reduce emissions by at least 68% by 2030, and why I’m pleased to say today that the UK will end taxpayer support for fossil fuel projects overseas as soon as possible.”
The announcement is projected to help boost the shift to green technology and renewable energy, while also creating jobs across the UK and spurring international growth.
The step is seen as a significant change, especially in comparison to the government’s support of the industry over the last four years, as the UK provided £21bn of UK oil and gas exports through trade promotion and export finance.
The government is planning to work with the UK’s oil and gas sector to encourage the move to low-carbon energy sources through the North Sea Transition Deal, while supporting areas like Teesside and Aberdeen to become global hubs for wind energy, carbon capture, and other future clean technologies.
The new target is within the recently announced Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution, estimated to create and support up to 250,000 British jobs by 2030.
