German taxpayers’ money backed new gas drilling in the Amazon, despite pledging to stop funding fossil fuels abroad
German public money helped fund new gas drilling in the Amazon that is linked to displacement and pollution, a new report finds.
The report says export credit guarantees backed by the German state were used for fossil fuel projects in the Amazon region. Campaigners argue this breaks Germany’s 2021 COP26 pledge to end public financing for overseas fossil fuels by the end of 2022.
Environmental groups say the drilling has led to forced displacement of communities and contamination of land and water. Investigations cited in related research have documented thousands of oil-contaminated sites across the Amazon in Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. Local people living near extraction zones report higher rates of cancer, miscarriages and respiratory disease.
Germany has defended some gas projects as necessary for energy security, especially after cutting Russian supplies following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Guidelines allow exemptions for natural gas in “special individual cases” until the end of 2025 if deemed necessary for national security. Critics, including Greenpeace Germany, call it “shameless disrespect” of climate commitments.
The findings add pressure on Berlin ahead of EU climate targets. Analysts note that expanding gas production abroad conflicts with the 1.5°C Paris Agreement limit. Indigenous leaders are calling on banks and governments to stop financing extractive projects in the Amazon, saying the forest is nearing a tipping point from deforestation and climate change.