Friends of the Earth warns of gaps in government ban on funding of overseas fossil fuel

Reacting to news that the UK government is to ban funding of fossil fuel projects overseas, Rachel Kennerley, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:

“It’s great that the UK government is finally waking up to the disastrous impact of investing in fossil fuel projects overseas. But it is still stubbornly pushing on with investing hundreds of millions of pounds in a climate-destroying mega gas project in Mozambique. The new policy would not allow this to go ahead, but ministers are still backing the project which is already proving disastrous for local communities in Mozambique while preventing us from stopping further climate breakdown.

“The government also needs to make sure that development aid funding via the CDC group aligns with this new policy and is not spent on fossil fuels, particularly at a time when there are plans to cut aid funding. There’s a real risk that ending the funding of overseas fossil fuel projects won’t become a reality if these holes aren’t closed.”