EU should drop oil, gas and coal funding, say ministers

cde.news desk 9 November 2019, 14:03 · 1 min read

epa06840781 (FILE) - A huge bucket wheel excavator is seen at the Vattenfall lignite strip mine in Welzow, Brandenburg, Germany, 15 December 2011 (reissued 26 June 2018). The first meeting of the German government's 'Commission for Growth, Structural Change and Employment' - dubbed the Coal Committee - is held in Berlin on 26 June 2018. The Commission was installed by the federal government to prepare and hand over a plan for a date to coal energy phase-out and for the 70,000 jobs in the coal energy sector that would be affected by the structural change. EPA-EFE/PATRICK PLEUL GERMANY OUT

The European Union should halt funding of oil, gas and coal projects, EU finance ministers said, potentially cutting €2bn of yearly investments.

The finance ministers called upon the European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU’s financing department, to cut its funding.

Previously, they had only called for coal projects to be dropped.

Since 2013, the EIB has funded €13.4bn of fossil fuel projects.

Last year it funded about €2bn worth of projects.

Some gas projects may be excused after Hungary suggested that Croatia and Ukraine might otherwise rely on Russia, Reuters reports, citing confidential documents.

Gas projects are relatively common among EU member states as they are seen as a cleaner alternative to coal and oil, and more reliable than renewable sources during winter.

Via BBC

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EU should drop oil, gas and coal funding, say ministers

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