Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
3/27/2015
A bill introduced by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) late last week to reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import Bank includes language that would lift the bank’s current restrictions on financing new coal-fired power plants unless they use carbon capture technology. A provision in the bill states that “the Bank may not deny an application for financing based solely on the industry, sector, or business that the application concerns; or promulgate or implement policies that discriminate against an application based solely on the industry, sector, or business that the application concerns.” The bill goes on to state, “The prohibitions … apply only to applications for financing by the Bank for projects concerning the exploration, development, production, or export of energy sources and the generation or transmission of electrical power, or combined heat and power, regardless of the energy source involved.’’
In an attempt to reauthorize the bank last year, Manchin included similar language that was eventually pulled from the legislation. Environmental groups have lashed out against the new bill, suggesting that it would undo progress made by the bank to address pollution issues. “At a time when we’re seeing the failure of coal both at home and overseas, it makes both financial and environmental sense for the U.S. and all of its taxpayer-backed financial institutions — including Ex-Im — to stop investing in dirty and dangerous fossil fuels like coal. The markets and the public have made it more than clear that clean energy is up to the task of powering our world, and it’s time that the Ex-Im Bank reflect that,” John Coequyt, Director of the Sierra Club’s International Climate Program, said in a statement.
