From Glasgow to Guiding Action

As a result of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP) 26 in Glasgow, 34 countries and 5 public finance institutions pledged to end international public finance for the unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022, explicitly including signatories’ capital invested in multilateral development banks (MDBs). The fact that MDBs provided $4.6 billion annually on average for fossil fuel projects between 2019 and 2021 highlights the importance of ambitious shareholder action, to hold the MDBs accountable for their Paris alignment commitments. At this point though, the majority of published fossil fuel exclusion policies have not been updated to align with the Glasgow Statement. While it is important that signatories publish their policies, the implementation of these will need to be done carefully and thoroughly. Any loopholes should be avoided and exceptions have to be clearly defined. In this policy brief, we assess the current state of implementation by the signatories with regard to their financing via MDBs, in the context of COP27 in Sharm-el Sheikh – the deadline for additional pledges to be made under the Glasgow Statement.