Sustainable Economic Systems

Sustainable Economic Systems

We aim to create a more environmentally sustainable and socially just world by transforming financial and economic systems. We work to redirect tax policies and public spending to make polluters pay for the costs of their pollution, and to drive the transition to a cleaner, low-carbon economy. At home and abroad, we advocate for policies that minimize environmental and social harm and fund a brighter future. In the United States, we strengthen regulations to encourage sustainability in financial markets and fight trade policies that allow companies to run roughshod over the environment and human rights. We also work with allies around the world to alter lending practices at financial institutions such as the World Bank, the U.S. Export-Import Bank and Wall Street banks that fund polluting activities and harm communities in developing countries.
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Latest News See All
Friends of the Earth launches legal complaint as U.S. EXIM approaches $1 billion mark for fossil fuel lending

Today, Friends of the Earth U.S. submitted an international complaint against the U.S. Export-Import Bank over its financing of overseas fossil fuel projects.

Report: At World Bank Group, U.S. Supports Fossil Gas Financing

Two years after the U.S. Treasury issued guidance to shift financial support from multilateral banks away from fossil fuel buildout overseas, a new report the U.S. has voted to support nearly 400 million USD in direct fossil fuel financing at the World Bank Group alone through March 2023.

Export-Import Bank Is Set to Approve Estonia Oil Project

President Biden cannot claim climate wins while his US Export-Import Bank is propping up a pollutive industry.

Impact Stories See All
Holding Multinational Corporations Accountable
Holding Multinational Corporations Accountable

Getting six major multinationals to stand up and take action is no small thing, but there is still work to be done.

Fighting for Corporate Responsibility
Fighting for Corporate Responsibility

After years of pressure from environmental activists, Proctor & Gamble shareholders took a vital step towards protecting our forests.

Loosening Big Oil’s Stranglehold on Wall Street
Loosening Big Oil’s Stranglehold on Wall Street

Raymond exemplifies the fossil fuel industry’s decades of climate denial. His retreat under pressure from the climate movement in a historic win, showing that fossil oligarchs’ and climate deniers’ stranglehold on Wall Street is waning.

Taking on Wall Street
Taking on Wall Street

We thank our members for speaking out and working to take on the most powerful industry on the planet. Your voices helped fund projects that will save our planet, not destroy it.

Dirty Coal Plant Loses U.S. Funding
Dirty Coal Plant Loses U.S. Funding

Americans have made it clear: We want a cleaner future. This means investing in sustainable and efficient renewable energy at home and abroad.

Latest Blog Posts See All
The Climate & Agriculture provisions of the IRA
The Climate & Agriculture provisions of the IRA

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is many things at once. The good and the bad all need to be considered together.

Celebrate the Earth, but don’t believe the corporate hype

Earth Day continues to be a moment when people come together to pick up trash, to learn and teach, and to take a moment to reflect. It is also a day when corporate America loves to broadcast its social responsibility and to spend public relations budgets on ever-increasing forays into…

The hidden flows of finance to fossil fuels: World Bank and IMF edition
The hidden flows of finance to fossil fuels: World Bank and IMF edition

The U.S. government has spent more than $44 billion on fossil fuel projects overseas over the last decade.

Resources See All
  • EXIM OECD Complaint
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  • Comments on DFC’s Draft Transparency Policy
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  • Response To Consultation On Draft German Export Finance Policy
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