New proposed policy for Euler Hermes, the German government export credit agency, means Germany broke an international commitment to end public finance for international fossil fuel projects, which was supposed to be met by the end of 2022
Euler Hermes is a major global financier of fossil fuels, bigger than the prominent United States Export-Import Bank (EXIM) – and as of December 2022 was considering 10 large international fossil fuel projects worth EUR 1 billion, despite Germany’s major climate pledge
German international reputation is in danger as a growing group of countries meet the same international commitment Germany signed, including the UK, Canada, France, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and New Zealand
Latest undermining of Olaf Scholz’ climate authority after watering-down of G7 climate pledges last year and attempts to convince EU to open new gas fields
Policy undermines public finance shift to clean energy, prolonging fossil-fuelled energy crisis and undermining energy security
Today, July 4, German insurance association GDV’s insurance regulation conference takes place in Berlin. German and Brussels-based environmental NGOs Urgewald, ShareAction and Insure Our Future use the occasion to collectively call on the lobby organization, speakers and participants in the event to support much more robust climate protection measures.
Bob Pickard’s shock resignation last week is a political earthquake. The departure of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's (AIIB) chief communications officer, announced via Twitter, once again highlights Germany's failure to meet the set of criteria it demanded when it joined the AIIB for supervisory, including accountability and governance structures as well as compliance with human rights, environmental and social standards.
The Bank invests billions in fossil fuel projects, including through various opaque channels. Unless this changes, its soul-searching will count for little.