To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department has spent on fossil fuel projects overseas in each of the last three years.
Answered on
20 July 2022
Since 31 March 2021 the UK Government no longer provides any new direct financial support for fossil fuel energy overseas. There are limited exemptions such as health and safety improvements and gas power generation forming part of wider clean energy transitions.
In the last 3 years the main area of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) funding (and legacy DFID) for international fossil fuel projects has been for energy infrastructure through British International Investment (formerly known as the CDC Group) and the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). Other areas of assistance include strengthening governance in the fossil fuel sector and accelerating access to clean cooking through the use of gas.
British International Investment (BII) publishes its energy portfolio: data is available for 2019 and 2020. BII's energy portfolio as at 31 December 2021 will be published in due course.
PIDG is a multi-donor programme. The UK is the owner that has provided the largest financial support to PIDG, providing some $1.2 billion of the $1.8 billion of funding provided by owners from 2002-2021. Collectively, the PIDG contributed approximately £47.9 million (2019), £59.5 million (2020), and £32.0 million (2021) to fossil fuel projects - exclusively gas fired electricity generation and storage infrastructure.
FCDO is working closely with other government departments and international partners to scale-up access to renewable energy and transition away from fossil fuels while ensuring affordability and security of supplies.