Dan Carden MP, Labour’s Shadow International Development Secretary, responding to the government’s admission that no UK aid has been spent on coal since 2012 after the Prime Minister announced an end to aid spending on coal, said:

“This sham announcement proves that Boris Johnson is trying to fool the British public about tackling the climate crisis.

“It is utterly shameless that this Tory government is willing to cook up false announcements in an attempt to trick the public into believing that it’s serious about pulling back from fossil fuels. We now know that no UK aid has been spent on coal in developing countries since 2012.

“If the government genuinely cares about stopping the climate crisis, it must end its ongoing support for all fossil fuels overseas, including on gas, oil and fracking.”

Ends

Notes:

Boris Johnson’s speech at Monday’s UK-African investment summit where he promised an end to all UK aid spending on coal: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-africa-investment-summit-speech-20-january-2020

DFID Minister Andrew Murrison confirming that no UK aid has been spent on coal since 2012: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2Clords&uin=5520

Ongoing support for fossil fuels overseas largely happens through UK Export Finance, which has supported £6billion of fossil fuel projects since 2010: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-51216084

Ongoing ODA support for fossil fuels happens through the Prosperity Fund which has financed the expansion of the oil and gas sector in China, Mexico and Brazil: https://platformlondon-org.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/a-false-promise-of-prosperity-web.pdf

UK aid is also investing in fossil fuels via numerous CDC Group investments, including a $39 million for a heavy fuel oil power plant in Guinea: https://www.cdcgroup.com/en/news-insight/news/cdc-announces-us39-million-investment-in-50mw-te-power-plant-in-guinea/ and a $25 million loan for a liquefied natural gas terminal in Bangladesh: https://www.cdcgroup.com/en/our-investments/investment/bangla-offshore-lng/