Quantifying the shift of public export finance from fossil fuels to renewable energy
Abstract By providing guarantees and direct lending, public export credit agencies (ECAs) de-risk and thus enable energy projects worldwide. Despite their importance for global greenhouse gas emission pathways, a systematic assessment of ECAs’ role and financing patterns in the low-carbon energy tra...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-55981-0 |
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| _version_ | 1832571522766602240 |
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| author | Philipp Censkowsky Paul Waidelich Igor Shishlov Bjarne Steffen |
| author_facet | Philipp Censkowsky Paul Waidelich Igor Shishlov Bjarne Steffen |
| author_sort | Philipp Censkowsky |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract By providing guarantees and direct lending, public export credit agencies (ECAs) de-risk and thus enable energy projects worldwide. Despite their importance for global greenhouse gas emission pathways, a systematic assessment of ECAs’ role and financing patterns in the low-carbon energy transition is still needed. Using commercial transaction data, here we analyze 921 energy deals backed by ECAs from 31 OECD and non-OECD countries (excluding Canada) between 2013 and 2023. We find that while the share of renewables in global ECA energy commitments rose substantially between 2013 and 2023, ECAs remain heavily involved in the fossil fuel sector, with support varying substantially across technologies, value chain stages, and countries. Portfolio ‘greening’ is primarily driven by members of the E3F climate club, impacting deal financing structures and shifting finance flows towards high-income countries. Our results call for reconsidering ECA mandates and strengthening international climate-related cooperation in export finance. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-75c46d5c2e6d471ca5400474ce9a7a6b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-75c46d5c2e6d471ca5400474ce9a7a6b2025-02-02T12:32:55ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111310.1038/s41467-025-55981-0Quantifying the shift of public export finance from fossil fuels to renewable energyPhilipp Censkowsky0Paul Waidelich1Igor Shishlov2Bjarne Steffen3Department of Strategy, Globalization and Society, University of Lausanne (HEC Lausanne)Climate Finance and Policy Group, ETH ZurichPerspectives Climate Research gGmbHClimate Finance and Policy Group, ETH ZurichAbstract By providing guarantees and direct lending, public export credit agencies (ECAs) de-risk and thus enable energy projects worldwide. Despite their importance for global greenhouse gas emission pathways, a systematic assessment of ECAs’ role and financing patterns in the low-carbon energy transition is still needed. Using commercial transaction data, here we analyze 921 energy deals backed by ECAs from 31 OECD and non-OECD countries (excluding Canada) between 2013 and 2023. We find that while the share of renewables in global ECA energy commitments rose substantially between 2013 and 2023, ECAs remain heavily involved in the fossil fuel sector, with support varying substantially across technologies, value chain stages, and countries. Portfolio ‘greening’ is primarily driven by members of the E3F climate club, impacting deal financing structures and shifting finance flows towards high-income countries. Our results call for reconsidering ECA mandates and strengthening international climate-related cooperation in export finance.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-55981-0 |
| spellingShingle | Philipp Censkowsky Paul Waidelich Igor Shishlov Bjarne Steffen Quantifying the shift of public export finance from fossil fuels to renewable energy Nature Communications |
| title | Quantifying the shift of public export finance from fossil fuels to renewable energy |
| title_full | Quantifying the shift of public export finance from fossil fuels to renewable energy |
| title_fullStr | Quantifying the shift of public export finance from fossil fuels to renewable energy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quantifying the shift of public export finance from fossil fuels to renewable energy |
| title_short | Quantifying the shift of public export finance from fossil fuels to renewable energy |
| title_sort | quantifying the shift of public export finance from fossil fuels to renewable energy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-55981-0 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT philippcenskowsky quantifyingtheshiftofpublicexportfinancefromfossilfuelstorenewableenergy AT paulwaidelich quantifyingtheshiftofpublicexportfinancefromfossilfuelstorenewableenergy AT igorshishlov quantifyingtheshiftofpublicexportfinancefromfossilfuelstorenewableenergy AT bjarnesteffen quantifyingtheshiftofpublicexportfinancefromfossilfuelstorenewableenergy |