EXIM Finances $690 million for Malaysia Petrochemicals as US Scrambles to Prove Climate Chops for COP29
WASHINGTON – Today the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) voted to approve a massive financing deal for a petrochemical project in Malaysia, compromising US’ climate pledges in advance of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in November. This comes as EXIM has invested billions in overseas fossil fuel spending this year, over Biden Administration directives to direct funds for renewable energy projects instead. If approved, this funding brings EXIM’s support for fossil fuels to almost $2.2 billion since May 2023.
EXIM is also considering financing for a gas facility expansion in Guyana and is expected to inform Congress of its intent to fund the project, despite insufficient environmental review and civil society opposition.
Environmental and civil society groups have decried the US repeated failure to live up to its climate commitments and transition away from fossil fuels. In August, Friends of the Earth and the Global Law Alliance for Animals pushed the US State Department to direct EXIM to halt financing for planet-destructive fossil fuels.
Kate DeAngelis, Deputy Director of Economic Policy for Friends of the Earth U.S., said this:
The US cannot ignore EXIM’s marriage to fossil fuels, despite its desperation to be a climate leader in the global space. It’s embarrassing to have an institution in our federal government that refuses to align with the Biden Administration’s climate pledges. But until EXIM ends its close ties with oil and gas, US climate actions cannot be taken seriously.