{"id":11325,"date":"2021-01-21T15:22:36","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T15:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=152938"},"modified":"2021-01-21T15:22:36","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T15:22:36","slug":"reality-starting-to-sink-in-says-mckibben-after-european-investment-bank-chief-admits-gas-is-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/01\/21\/reality-starting-to-sink-in-says-mckibben-after-european-investment-bank-chief-admits-gas-is-over\/","title":{"rendered":"Reality ‘Starting to Sink In,’ Says McKibben, After European Investment Bank Chief Admits ‘Gas Is Over’"},"content":{"rendered":"
Noted author and 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben was among the first to celebrate word that the president of the European Investment Bank on Wednesday openly declared, “To put it mildly, gas is over”\u2014an admission that squares<\/a> with what climate experts and economists have been saying for years if not decades<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dr. Werner Hoyer, president of the EIB\u2014the investment bank publicly owned by the European Union’s member states\u2014made the comments while presenting a review of the institution’s 2020 operations at a press conference in Luxembourg.<\/p>\n Calling a future break with fracked gas “a serious departure from the past,” Hoer added that “without the end to the use of unabated fossil fuels, we will not be able to reach the climate targets” to which the EU states\u2014and therefore the bank\u2014have committed.<\/p>\n McKibben and others responded to the comments as the most recent promising signal that the financial world is catching up with the climate science that demands a rapid and profound shift away from fossil fuels.<\/p>\n “President of the EIB, Werner Hoyer, clearly knows what’s up,” tweeted<\/a> Oil Change International. “We agree. Time to #StopFundingFossils.”<\/p>\n Greenpeace EU also heralded the news and stated: “There’s nothing clean about gas\u2014it’s not a ‘transition fuel’ or a ‘bridge fuel,’ it’s a dirty fossil fuel just like coal and oil. It’s time to stop bankrolling the #ClimateEmergency and stop public money back gas projects.”<\/p>\n European Investment Bank says GAS IS OVER! <\/p>\n Now we need to make sure it doesn’t fund gas before its 2022 deadline, and make sure other banks realise this too! https:\/\/t.co\/n7o7OosRP4<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Gastivists Network (@gastivists) January 20, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n According<\/a> to EurActiv<\/em>:<\/p>\n The EU aims to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and is expected to adopt a new carbon reduction target of -55% for 2030. However, gas has remained a grey area, with the European Commission saying it will still be needed to help coal-reliant EU member states transition away from fossil fuels<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
\n