US Fossil Fuel Projects Around the World

The United States claims to lead on climate change yet fossil fuels make up the bulk of the country’s energy consumption. The country also supports fossil-fuel use around the globe: “Through the US Export-Import Bank, Barack Obama’s administration has spent nearly $34bn supporting 70 fossil fuel projects around the world, work by Columbia Journalism School’s Energy and Environment Reporting Project and the Guardian has revealed,” reports the Guardian. The article describes coal ash, contaminated water supplies, illnesses, water shortages, deforestation and fracking associated with US-funded projects in India, South Africa and Australia. One attorney suggests that “A federal agency of the United States of America should hold their financed projects to better and more neutral standards. Development is good, but not at the cost of the environment and the people who give away their everything to make way for such projects.” – YaleGlobal