US Spends Billions Financing Fossil Fuels While Other Countries Cut Their Funding Up to 80% 

New analysis ahead of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 31) shows other countries continue delivering on climate commitments, though clean energy funding is falling short 

WASHINGTON — Members of the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) have cut their international public finance for fossil fuels by up to 80% from the annual average before the partnership launched (the 2019–2021 annual average), new analysis shows. But members have redirected less than half of the funding cut from fossil fuels into clean energy, and most clean energy support goes to advanced economies.

And the United States, which left the CETP last year, is spending billions more to finance fossil fuels.

According to the new analysis, America’s international public financing of fossil fuels rose from $1.1 billion under President Joe Biden in 2024 to $6.1 billion under Donald Trump in 2025. That’s 5.5 times higher in one year.  

“The United States has shown what happens when a country leaves the Clean Energy Transition Partnership–its financing of fossil fuels skyrockets. ” said Kate DeAngelis, Economic Policy Deputy Director at Friends of the Earth U.S. “As Congress reauthorizes the U.S. Export-Import Bank, it should restrict its fossil fuel financing, which would shut off a spigot of potentially tens of billions of dollars to this dirty industry.” 

These findings are outlined in Down But Not Out: Deep Cuts to Fossil Fuel Finance, Unfinished Business on Clean Energy, released today by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Oil Change International (OCI), and Friends of the Earth U.S. 

Across CETP members, fossil fuel finance fell to $3.3 billion in 2025, an annual reduction of $8.5–$13.2 billion, demonstrating sustained delivery on the partnership’s climate commitments. 

CETP members committed to ending direct international public finance for unabated fossil fuels and fully prioritizing clean energy instead. The assessment finds continued progress in ending fossil fuel support despite global geopolitical headwinds and ongoing energy crises. Eleven of the 16 high-income signatories now have energy finance policies fully aligned with the pledge. 

“The sustained reduction in fossil fuel finance shows that CETP members are delivering. That implementation record makes the CETP one of the most successful climate coalitions. Countries like South Korea, Japan, and China, the largest providers of international public finance for fossil fuels outside the CETP, should join the coalition by COP 31 to accelerate these cuts and redirect billions more in public finance towards clean energy,” said Adam McGibbon, campaign strategist at OCI. 

Remaining fossil fuel support is concentrated among a few members, highlighting where stronger implementation could deliver further gains. Italy provided the most fossil fuel finance, at $6 billion in 2023–2025, followed by Germany at $2.5 billion and Switzerland at $1.6 billion. Export credit agencies, which provide government-backed loans, insurance, and guarantees for exports, accounted for 64% of members’ fossil fuel support in 2025, making them a priority for closing policy loopholes. 

“Following April’s conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia, the CETP offers a model for its ‘coalition of doers’ to tackle the financial incentives and macroeconomic dependencies that sustain fossil fuel use. COP 31’s climate-finance discussions, including the Veredas Dialogue, must build on this progress and scale up clean energy finance on fair terms for emerging and developing economies, alongside the additional climate finance those countries are owed,” said Natalie Jones, Senior Policy Advisor at IISD.

The United States outspent every member of the CETP.  

To guard against reversals and build on the CETP’s progress, the report calls on the United States to re-join the CETP and expand clean energy finance without adding unsustainable debt.

Media contacts: 
Lindsay Tice, Friends of the Earth U.S., [email protected], 202-783-7400, ext. 8403  
Mark Raven, IISD, [email protected], +447841474125  
Khaliel Moses, Oil Change International, [email protected]

Notes for editors 

The CETP was launched at COP 26 in Glasgow in 2021 and now has 40 member countries and institutions. Members pledged to end direct international public finance for unabated fossil fuels within a year of joining and fully prioritize clean energy instead.

The brief draws on Oil Change International’s Public Finance for Energy Database, a free database tracking international public finance flows: www.energyfinance.org. The reported figures are conservative estimates because reporting is incomplete. The range in the reduction reflects uncertainty over Canada’s historical international fossil fuel finance. 

Report available here: https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/deep-cuts-fossil-finance-unfinished-business-clean-energy