Toomey Presses Ex-Im on Climate Change Executive Order
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) is pressing the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank of the United States for more information on the implementation of a new executive order directing the Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury to coordinate with the newly-established Special Presidential Envoy for Climate to develop a “climate finance plan.”
The
letter requests a number of documents as well as a briefing on the subject in
order to better understand the scope and intention of the Executive Order and
Ex-Im’s role in carrying it out.
Ex-Im’s
role in creating a climate finance plan is especially ironic as carbon-heavy
consumers are some of the largest beneficiaries of Ex-Im’s taxpayer funded
subsidies. In remarks
on the Senate Floor in 2019, Toomey highlighted the fact that Ex-Im’s top
borrowers included Petroleos Mexicanos, a state-owned oil company in Mexico,
state-owned airlines in Kenya and China, and Roy Hill Mining, which is owned by
the richest woman in Australia.
Click
here
to read Fox Business’s coverage of Ranking Member Toomey’s letter.
Read
the full letter here
or below.
March 17, 2021
Mr.
Jim Cruse
Acting Vice Chairman and First Vice President
Export-Import Bank of the United States
811 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20571
Dear
Acting Vice Chairman Cruse:
As
the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs (Committee), I am seeking information about the implementation of the
January 27, 2021, Executive Order entitled, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at
Home and Abroad” (Order). Among other things, the Order directs the
Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury to coordinate with the
newly-established Special Presidential Envoy for Climate to lead a process to
develop a climate finance plan. As you know, part of this plan will
involve “promoting the flow of capital toward climate-aligned investments and
away from high-carbon investments.” The Order also directs the United
States Agency for International Development, the Chief Executive Officer of the
United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Chief
Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Director of the
United States Trade and Development Agency, the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, and the head of any other agency providing foreign
assistance and development financing, as appropriate, to participate in the
process of creating the climate finance plan.
The
Order also directs the Secretary of the Treasury to:
(i) ensure that the United States is present and engaged in relevant international fora and institutions that are working on the management of climate-related financial risks;
(ii) develop a strategy for how the voice and vote of the United States can be used in international financial institutions, including the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, to promote financing programs, economic stimulus packages, and debt relief initiatives that are aligned with and support the goals of the Paris Agreement; and
(iii) develop, in collaboration with the Secretary of State, the Administrator of USAID, and the Chief Executive Officer of the DFC, a plan for promoting the protection of the Amazon rainforest and other critical ecosystems that serve as global carbon sinks, including through market-based mechanisms.
Additionally, the Order directs the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Energy to work together with the Export–Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im), the Chief Executive Officer of the DFC, and the heads of other agencies and partners, as appropriate, to identify steps through which the United States can promote ending international financing of carbon-intensive fossil fuel-based energy while simultaneously advancing sustainable development and a green recovery, in consultation with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
In
order to better understand the scope and intention of the Order, as well as
Ex-Im’s role in carrying it out, I am requesting a briefing on this subject by
no later than the week of April 5, 2021. Additionally, please produce the
following information as soon as possible, but by no later than March 31, 2021:
1. A list of the names and titles of all Ex-Im employees, including detailees, and Ex-Im contractors, if any, who will be participating in the development of the Climate Finance Plan;
2. A list of the names and titles of all Ex-Im employees, including detailees, and Ex-Im contractors, if any, who will be involved in implementing or carrying out the Order;
3. All records in Ex-Im’s possession pertaining to the Order; and
4. A list of all Board-approved projects Ex-Im has financed from March 1, 2016 – present. Please include, at minimum, for each listed project: (i) a description of the project financed, to include sector and country involved (e.g., Telecom project in Spain); (ii) the name of the entity financed; and (iii) the total financed amount.
If you have any questions regarding this request, please have your staff contact Sean Brebbia of the Republican Committee Staff at 202-224-7391.
Sincerely,
Pat
Toomey
Ranking Member
cc:
The Honorable Sherrod Brown, Chairman
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
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