What Is International Public Finance, and Why Does it Matter?
International public finance, including loans, grants, equity stakes, or guarantees, is provided by governments through international public finance institutions, including development finance institutions and export credit agencies, as well as major multilateral development banks (MDBs).
Public finance institutions play an outsized role in shaping the energy system by providing government-backed, low-risk finance that is often a determining factor in which projects get built. Public finance institutions can also influence the energy landscape by signalling government priorities and adding research and advisory capacity, which all help leverage additional investments for proposed projects.
What Are the Current Trends in International Public Finance?
G20 international public finance institutions and the major MDBs provide over USD 100 billion each year in international finance for energy projects.
Over the past decade, international public finance for fossil fuels by the G20 and MDBs has seen a marked decline, dropping from a high of USD 151 billion in 2016 to USD 37 billion in 2024. Meanwhile, investments in clean energy have increased, though at a slow pace, and now surpass fossil fuels, an important shift in momentum for the global energy transition. In 2024, international public finance for clean energy amounted to USD 47 billion, a slight decline from USD 54 billion in 2023.
The Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP), which saw 40 signatories (including some G20 members) agree to end international public finance for fossil fuels and prioritize clean energy, has been a major driver in shifting financial flows. When compared with 2019–2021 levels, before the alliance was formed, international public finance for fossil fuels by CETP members has fallen by up to 78%. Scaling up clean energy finance, however, has been slower, with less than one-fifth of the funds redirected from fossil fuels.
While G20 countries’ and major MDBs’ international public finance for energy is on the right track in terms of moving away from fossil fuels towards clean energy, the pace of the switch needs to be faster for this public finance component to meaningfully contribute to a clean energy transition.
How Is International Public Finance Data Collected?
The Public Finance for Energy Database is a project of Oil Change International. The Database compiles transaction-level data on finance from G20 export credit agencies and development finance institutions, as well as the major multilateral development banks.
Oil Change International builds this data set by tracking energy finance from public finance institutions at the transaction level. As of 2024, it covers almost 13,000 transactions totalling over USD 1.5 trillion going back to 2013.
For more information on the data and methodology, please visit the Public Finance for Energy Database.