Fossil-fuel friendly Trump might mean restrictions are lifted
With Donald Trump’s support of coal, oil and gas might see the investment guarantee agencies back coal-fired projects in Africa
US President Donald Trump’s expressed support for coal, oil and gas may lift restrictions on the ability of multilateral investment guarantee agencies, such as the World Bank, to back projects like coal-fired power stations, Ernie Thrasher, CEO of Xcoal Energy Resources, said on Wednesday. Although the World Bank approved a $3.75bn loan to Eskom in 2010 to build the Medupi power station, it was conditional on $750,000 being used to finance renewable energy. In 2013, the World Bank decided it would finance coal-fired power only in "rare circumstances". Thrasher said, at a panel discussion on securing finance for mining from partnerships and off-take agreements, that the Obama administration’s stance had affected developing countries that needed low-cost power to develop their economies. Trump’s friendlier policies towards fossil fuels might also encourage the US to resume support for clean coal technologies, on which China was now more advanced. Thrasher said traditional banking fina...
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