How To Choke Fossil Fuel Finance for Good
Abundant capital is still propping funding oil, gas, and coal—if it cannot be reallocated elsewhere, then it needs to be cut off.
Funding fossil fuels is one of the most secure bets a financial institution can make. Finance, therefore, is driving climate breakdown. Ending the stream of cheap, easily available credit is a major front in the struggle to decarbonise our economies. Capital that is currently funding oil, gas, and coal needs to be reallocated elsewhere — and if it cannot, then ongoing financial support for fossil fuels needs to be choked off.
The concept of Transition financing is also entering the mainstream. This is finance that targets high-carbon industries in order to clean up their operations, rather than funding already green industries.
This is important for funding activities in the process of decarbonising, even if their current footprint excludes them from receiving ‘green’ investment. Think of green steel, or carbon-neutral concrete — traditionally high polluting industries that are attempting to clean up their operations.
