US foreign funding targets net-zero future: press

The US government offered guidance to its embassies on US financing that would support the transition to a net-zero future, the Bloomberg news service reported December 10.

Bloomberg said it received early details on a cable sent to US embassies overseas that calls for an immediate end to federal support for coal-fired power plants or other heavy-polluting projects in foreign markets.

“Our international energy engagement will centre on promoting clean energy, advancing innovative technologies, boosting US clean-tech competitiveness and providing financing and technical assistance to support net-zero transitions around the world,” Bloomberg quoted the document as stating.

US president Joe Biden since taking the oath of office in early January embraced a low-carbon energy policy, denying a permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline and limiting new oil and gas drilling on federal lands.

Ahead of the COP26 summit last month, the US president also outlined new measures meant to limit methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. He has faced backlash, however, for simultaneously calling on members of OPEC to put more oil on the market, and tapping strategic oil reserves to bring commodity prices lower.

Biden, however, has acknowledged the energy transition will not be swift.

In the cable to embassies, meanwhile, the government said it would not actively intervene in private-sector transactions.

“As long as there is demand for fossil energy products, technologies, and services in global markets, the US government will not stand in the way of US companies that are ready and able to meet those needs,” the document read. “The US government will continue to help US energy companies, especially small- and medium-sized businesses, achieve their commercial objectives without compromising global climate ambitions.”