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Fueling Destruction
Export-Import Bank of the US:Fossil Fuel and Mining Investments

$242 million

"These are big corporations. They are getting a very nice gift from the taxpayers through the Export -Import Bank." Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Congressional Record, September 20, 1997.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im) provides loans and investment guarantees to U.S. corporations doing business overseas. Ex-Im underwrites the fossil fuel industry by supporting power plants, extraction and pipelines in countries such as China and India. In its fiscal year 2000 annual report, Ex-Im reported that the loans and long term guarantees it authorized totaled $7.8 billion. The agency devoted 28 percent of that total-or $2 billion-to fossil fuel projects. These investments pollute local communities and the global environment. Ex-Im should phase out its support of the fossil fuel sector.

Green Scissors Proposal
Cut funding for Ex-Im by $242 million. This amount is 28 percent of the agency's fiscal year 2001 appropriations, representing the percentage of its loan and long-term guarantee portfolio that it spent on fossil fuel projects last year.

Current Status

In fiscal year 2001, Congress appropriated $865 million to Ex-Im, which bolstered the agency's nearly $8 billion investment portfolio. In fiscal year 1999, Ex-Im devoted three percent-or $250 million-of this investment portfolio to fossil fuel and mining projects. In fiscal year 2000, Ex-Im's support of these industries skyrocketed to 28 percent of their authorized portfolio.

Program Hurts Taxpayers

Ex-Im's investments in the fossil fuel sectors often prove to be among the agency's riskiest. For example, Ex-Im recently considered supporting a coal-fired power plant in Bo Nok, Thailand that was opposed by local communities. Police injured dozens of peaceful protesters who were concerned about the project, and local communities are now threatening to burn the plant down if it is built. Local residents have stated they would prefer clean, renewable energy.

When Ex-Im invests in fossil fuel projects in unstable countries with corrupt governments, U.S. taxpayer dollars can be wasted. In fiscal year 2000, Ex-Im approved financing for an oil pipeline in the West African countries of Chad and Cameroon after the World Bank approved a similar package. In December, 2000, the Washington Post revealed that Chad's president spent $4.5 million of the World Bank's loan on weapons instead of addressing poverty alleviation as promised.

Program Hurts the Environment

Fossil fuel extraction devastates valuable ecosystems. Fossil fuel extraction and pipelines enable multinational corporations to extract resources and profits from poor countries. They pollute local communities' air and water and in many cases contribute to deforestation.

Fossil fuel development leads to global warming. Fossil fuel projects release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. What's worse, Ex-Im is supporting these projects at the expense of cleaner renewable energy sources. Environmentalists have criticized the agency for contradicting the U.S. Senate's Byrd (D-WV) - Hagel (R-NE) Resolution. In this 1997 resolution, the Senate unanimously demanded that developing countries, such as China and India, commit to reducing their global warming emissions before the U.S. takes similar action domestically. Through Ex-Im fossil fuel investments, however, the U.S. is actually underwriting an increase in these countries' emissions.

Contacts

• Sara Zdeb or Jon Sohn, Friends of the Earth (202) 783-7400.
• Doug Norlen, Pacific Environmental Resource Center,(202) 785-8700 x31.