Joe Biden should end support for overseas oil and gas projects

Nina Pušić and Kate DeAngelis say the US president must follow his move to restrain fossil fuel expansion at home with similar measures to curb it around the world

We back Bill McKibben’s call for more of the sort of leadership recently shown by President Joe Biden in pausing new liquified natural gas export terminals (Joe Biden just did the rarest thing in US politics: he stood up to the oil industry, 7 February). Biden has another opportunity to curb the fossil fuel industry’s relentless expansionist agenda and affirm his climate credentials in this election year at an upcoming meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

At Cop26, the UN climate conference in Glasgow in 2021, 34 governments, including the US, pledged to end international public finance for fossil fuels by the end of 2022. Despite this, in the last year alone, the US has provided more than $2.2bn to oil and gas projects around the world via its export credit agency, the US Export-Import Bank, and its development finance institution. These include a large oil refinery in Indonesia, an oil project in the Bahamas, and gas turbines in Iraq.

Following the Cop26 pledge, the UK, EU and Canada lived up to their commitments by putting forward a proposal at the OECD to limit export credits for oil and gas, which would formalise and expand the voluntary commitment to all members. OECD countries will meet next month in Paris to discuss whether to approve this proposal, and the US will be critical in influencing others. The policy change can’t happen without full consensus.

Biden should follow up his move to restrain fossil fuel expansion at home by supporting robust measures to end fossil fuel finance for overseas projects too. Anything less would betray his climate commitments and hinder urgent action for the wellbeing of people and planet.

Nina Pušić Oil Change International
Kate DeAngelis Friends of the Earth US

Cover photo: Biden has another opportunity to … affirm his climate credentials in this election year at an upcoming meeting of the OECD.’ Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images