Under the rug: how governments and international institutions are hiding billions in support to the coal industry
International financial institutions and governments worldwide are pouring billions of dollars into building new and existing coal-fired power plants and expanding coal mining activities that worsen dangerous carbon pollution, according to a new report that calls for an end to all international coal financing, except in very rare circumstances. The report, “Under the Rug: How Governments and International Institutions Are Hiding Billions in Support to the Coal Industry,” documents for the first time key governments and financing organizations that have backed more than $73 billion in coal-related projects over the last eight years. The full extent of government financing for coal-related development overseas is not common knowledge, and the report’s findings are relatively conservative. These projects have added half a billion tons of new carbon pollution to the air annually. That’s equal to the annual carbon pollution released by Italy, the world’s 20th largest emitter of the pollution fueling climate change.