UK to End All Overseas Oil and Gas Funding

The United Kingdom (UK) government has announced to co-host an international online summit that will held discussions on cutting the carbon emissions. This summit will also being an end to British backing for fossil fuel projects in foreign countries. With this announcement, UK has become the first G-20 country to stop the foreign gas funding.

What is UK’s Plan?

• UK government have planned to end the export finance.
• It will also stop aiding the funds and trade promotion for new crude oil, natural gas or coal energy projects.
• The UK government would work with the oil and gas industry in order to support the move to low carbon energy sources.
• UK will do this through a North Sea transition deal. It will turn areas like Aberdeen into hubs for offshore wind and carbon-cutting technologies like green hydrogen.
• The government has called to do more on energy regulation, the gas grid and new green technologies.

UK’s Gas funding

The taxpayers of UK have supported some 21 billion of oil and gas exports in the last four years. They have supported it through trade promotion and export finance. This provides financing to UK businesses that sells goods and services overseas.

Background

This announcement has come in the backdrop of the summit co-hosted by the UN, UK and France. The summit would be organized to mark five years of the Paris Agreement.

Paris Climate agreement

The Paris Agreement was singed by the countries so as to take action against the rising global temperature. The countries seeks to limit temperature rises to below 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial level. They also make efforts to keep the temperature 1.5 degree Celsius.