Rich Nations Default on COP26 Fossil Fuel Finance Pledges

The report, titled Promise Breakers, evaluates 16 signatories to the Glasgow Statement. While eight nations—including Canada, France, and the United Kingdom—have aligned their policies with the pledge, others remain in breach. The analysis estimates that an additional $13.7 billion could be redirected to green energy if laggards fulfilled their promises.

The United States, Germany, Italy, and Portugal are singled out as primary offenders. The Biden administration faces scrutiny for failing to release a public policy governing its bilateral financing agencies, despite campaign promises to curtail support for international dirty energy. Critics argue this lack of transparency undermines global climate leadership.

Italy’s export credit agency, SACE, continues to support major oil and gas infrastructure, including projects in Egypt and Mozambique. Similarly, Germany is under fire for pursuing new gas deals in Senegal and elsewhere, prompting calls from environmental groups for Chancellor Olaf Scholz to force the state-owned development bank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, to adhere strictly to the Glasgow agreement. For signatories, the task remains to move beyond rhetoric and ensure that public capital no longer sustains the climate crisis.