Stop funding fossil fuels

Climate science is clear that fossil fuels are warming the planet. However, despite committing to take the climate crisis seriously, the multilateral development banks (MDBs) are still financing fossil fuel projects around the world.

These public finance institutions need to rapidly shift their financing from coal, oil and gas, to genuinely sustainable clean energy alternatives.

Recourse campaigns to end public finance for fossil fuels by engaging the MDBs, together with civil society partners and affected communities, to make the case for why fossil fuel financing must end and to highlight the remaining policy loopholes that must be closed.

Coming off coal

Despite being the most carbon intensive fossil fuel source, coal is still receiving billions of dollars of funding from public and private banks. While almost every major development finance institution (DFI) has committed to end coal finance, these restrictions mostly apply to direct investments. Loopholes still allow some coal investments via financial intermediaries and for so-called ‘captive coal’.

Recourse works to expose the financial links between public finance institutions, private sector banks and destructive coal projects and developers. We conduct research on how MDB funding finds its way to coal power, while highlighting the human and environmental costs of these projects, with the aim of achieving systemic policy change and remedy for affected communities.

Remedy for coal-affected communities

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Coal has had–and continues to have–dire impacts for people living in the vicinity of mines and power plants. These communities have a right to remedy from the financial institutions behind projects supporting coal.

With coal expansion booming in Asia, we focus especially on working with partners to block coal projects and win remedy for communities in the region. In 2017, the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, with support from Inclusive Development International and Recourse, brought a complaint to the International Finance Corporation’s ombudsman on behalf of coal-affected communities across the Philippines. In 2022, the ombudsman agreed that the IFC contributed to harm via its financial intermediary client, and argued that it should contribute to remedy.

Campaign to end coal finance

Alongside Inclusive Development International and BankTrack, we are also campaigning to block public and private sector finance for new coal projects. Together, this consortium publishes case studies on iconic coal projects, provides support to communities resisting these projects, and is engaging potential financiers to persuade them to stop financing coal.

Getting out of gas

As the global climate crisis intensifies and while the production of gas soars, it is clearer than ever that gas must be phased out together with coal and oil. In contrast to industry claims that gas can be a “transition fuel” from fossils to renewables, analysis shows that gas is not clean, cheap or necessary. Public financing for fossil gas is compounding an extractivist model of development that puts profit ahead of human rights, sustainability and climate justice.

Recourse monitors the MDBs’ funding portfolios, to identify where public money is flowing to fossil gas, typically through indirect financing (development policy finance and technical assistance), financial intermediary lending and guarantees. We push DFIs to commit to ending fossil gas financing, including for liquefied natural gas (LNG), and shifting their investments to sustainable renewable energy.

Collaborating for systemic change

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Recourse is committed to movement-building to foster long-term, systemic change in public finance. We collaborate with coalitions and partners around the world working to end fossil fuels, including: