International Grassroots Leaders Call On Treasury Department To Center Their Voices

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

WASHINGTON, DC-Today, grassroots leaders from 20 different countries and 37 organizations sent a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department, calling on the Department to center the demands of international grassroots movements in the implementation of its new Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) fossil fuel financing guidance released on Monday. The guidance directs the U.S. government to strongly oppose coal projects, and to only support oil and gas projects in extenuating circumstances and only if specific criteria are met, while encouraging MDBs to invest in clean energy and energy efficiency.

The U.S. currently funnels billions of dollars annually to fossil fuel projects and policies overseas, much of which is done through MDBs. And while U.S. leadership on international fossil fuel financing could have a domino effect on the way that other nations vote on energy projects at the MDBs, it is critical that grassroots voices are at the forefront of the conversation.

The letter sent to Treasury today calls for, among other demands, ending US support for all fossil fuel financing at the MDBs including for gas and helping countries with a just transition to community-centered clean energy. It also calls for improved disclosure and full transparency of climate finance accounting and decision making and including grassroots communities and movements from developing countries in the full process of drafting these policies. Further demands include actions on specific fossil fuel projects, such as requiring the relevant International Financial Institutions (IFIs) to end the promotion of oil and gas in Guyana; stop the coal project in San Pedro, Côte d’lvoire; and evaluate the impact of their lending and policy advice on fossil fuel development and dependency in Mozambique. 

READ THE FULL LETTER HERE

Contact: 

Andri Prasetiyo, Trend Asia, [email protected] 

Cindy Carr, Sierra Club, [email protected] 

Kaela Bamberger, Friends of the Earth U.S., [email protected]