Public release of plan would fulfill U.S. commitment in Glasgow Statement
Washington (December 21, 2022) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, today led his colleagues Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in a letter to President Biden urging his Administration to fulfill its commitment in the Glasgow Statement by publicly releasing a plan for ending public financing of unabated international fossil fuel projects by the end of 2022. Thirty-nine states and public financial institutions, including the United States, signed the Glasgow Statement. In the letter, the senators argue that publicly releasing a concrete plan for meeting our commitments will demonstrate American leadership in the fight against climate change and catalyze similar efforts by multilateral banks and other countries. In the letter, the lawmakers specifically request information about any exceptions the United States will recognize to its pledge, a list of U.S. agencies covered by the pledge, and how the Administration will work with other international financial institutions to end public financing of fossil fuel projects abroad.
“To strengthen our position as a global leader on climate change, enable effective oversight of U.S. public finance, and catalyze similar efforts from multilateral banks and other countries, the United States must demonstrate in transparent and concrete terms how it intends to fulfill this crucial climate pledge,” the senators wrote in their letter.
“The public release of our plan to implement the Glasgow Statement commitments will help the United States encourage other governments and their institutions, as well as public finance institutions, to hold themselves accountable to their pledge,” the senators continued. “A clear indication of our move away from public finance for international fossil fuel projects can also spur more climate-friendly financing decisions in other international bodies such as multilateral development banks. A transparent, open plan will also enable the United States to apply pressure to fossil-fuel financing countries such as China and Russia, which are glaringly absent from the list of Glasgow Statement signatories.”
In November, Senator Markey led six colleagues in a letter to President Biden urging the Administration to strengthen the United States’ position as a global leader in combatting climate change by bolstering its finance commitments at COP27 and using all available tools to fulfill its Paris agreement commitments. In October 2021, Senator Markey, Senator Van Hollen, and Rep. Omar led 58 colleagues in a bicameral letter to President Biden ahead of the COP26 urging him to secure a deal on a Build Back Better agenda with strong climate provisions.
###
