South Korea wins Fossil of the Day award for blocking Trump-proof historic agreement on fossil fuel finance

Baku, Azerbaijan – South Korea has won the closely-watched Fossil of the Day award, the first award of the second week of negotiations at COP29 in Baku.

Korea has won the award for being the last major blocker on a potential historic deal that would end USD $41 billion dollars a year in export finance for fossil fuels.

Negotiations kick off today in Paris at the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) headquarters, where a deal is being discussed to extend a ban on government-backed export finance for coal, to oil and gas as well. The deal would be binding on all OECD members, and, crucially, could not be undone by an incoming Trump Administration.

Korea is the second largest provider of international public finance for fossil fuels globally, investing an average of USD 10 billion per year in overseas fossil projects, mainly in gas projects and midstream fossil fuel transport. They are the world’s largest provider of fossil fuel finance yet to make a commitment to stop fossil fuel financing.

The European Union, Canada, United Kingdom, Norway, Australia, and New Zealand are all pushing for a deal at the OECD that ends export finance for fossil fuels. This week’s negotiations, believed to continue until Thursday, are the last opportunity for the Biden Administration to join this bloc of countries in supporting such a deal. Media reports in recent days suggest the United States is moving toward supporting the deal, leaving Korea as the last major blocker.

In September, following a Freedom of Information request, it was revealed that Korea’s negotiating position is to oppose any fossil fuel restrictions. At the time, Kim Kyoheung, a lawmaker with Korea’s opposition Democratic Party, said OECD members “are making concerted efforts to reach a consensus on prohibiting public financing for fossil fuel projects…but the Korean Government is undermining these efforts, causing talks to reach a stalemate.”

Nina Pusic, Export Finance Strategist at Oil Change International, said:
“The OECD is moving and Korea risks being completely isolated. As negotiations begin today, almost every negotiating country is moving towards securing restrictions on fossil fuel finance. Will the Korean Government support a renewable energy future, or will it stand alone and embrace the polluting, risky fossil fuel energy system of the past?”

Dongjae Oh, Solutions for Our Climate, said:
“Winning Fossil of the Day at the UN Climate Change Conference is a national embarrassment for Korea. Despite committing to the Paris Agreement in 2015 and pledging carbon neutrality in 2020, the government continues to fuel global fossil fuel expansion by ramping up international financing. While citizens strive to cut emissions, the government undermines these efforts. Korea has a chance to honor its climate promises this week in Paris by ending public fossil fuel financing abroad. President Yoon Suk Yeol must lead his team toward a constructive outcome at the OECD negotiations—or risk Korea being labeled a climate villain.”

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