The Biden administration is facing criticism from climate activists who allege that the president has reneged on a major climate promise by funding fossil fuel projects in foreign countries, The Washington Post reported on Monday.
President Joe Biden called for U.S. federal agencies to end the practice in 2021, and was followed in 2022 by the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), an intergovernmental organization of major Western economies, The Washington Post reported on Monday. Activists argue that a May 12 decision by the leadership of the U.S. Export-Import Bank — an independent agency that does not directly report to the White House — to approve a $99.7 million loan for Pertamina, the Indonesian national oil company, is a sign that the administration is failing to keep its promise. (RELATED: Green Activists Pressure Renewables Industry To Reject Permitting Reform That Boosts ‘Dangerous’ Fossil Fuels)
“It was really a deep betrayal,” Collin Rees, U.S. program manager of Oil Change International, told the Post, characterizing the loan as violating “both the spirit and the letter” of the administration’s fossil fuel stance. Jeff Ordower, North America director at 350.org, told the outlet that the loan was in “direct contradiction” with Biden’s “posturing” on the issue of climate change.
HIROSHIMA, JAPAN – MAY 21: US President Joe Biden speaks during a press conference, following the conclusion of the G7 Summit Leaders’ Meeting on May 21, 2023 in Hiroshima, Japan. The G7 summit will be held in Hiroshima from 19-22 May. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota – Pool/Getty Images)
“The administration stands by its commitment to end new direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector,” National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge told the Post. However, said Hodge, the bank’s loan “does not reflect administration policy,” because the bank operates independently of the White House.
The activists also took issue with a joint statement made by G7 leaders on Saturday, which stated that natural gas has an “important role” in maintaining energy security, and that a temporary increase in natural gas investment could be “appropriate” to reduce reliance on Russian energy sources, according to Axios. Germany and Japan were major advocates for the G7’s continued support of fossil fuels, which Britain and France opposed, while the U.S. insisted that such projects could only be funded in “narrow circumstances” that aligned with pre-existing climate goals, according to The New York Times.
“Renewed endorsement for public finance in the gas sector shows that the Leaders, particularly Germany and Japan, are stuck in last year’s panic mode,” Maria Pastukhova, a Berlin-based senior policy advisor for climate group E3G, told Axios.
The White House did not immediately respond to a Daily Caller News Foundation request for comment.
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