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German government-owned business and development bank KfW stops financing all coal-related business activities. The KfW Group’s new “” rules out financing the “prospection, exploration and mining of coal; land-based means of transport and related infrastructure essentially used for coal; power plants, heating stations and cogeneration facilities essentially fired with coal.” It also says that “Investments in power transmission grids with significant coal-based power feed-in will only be pursued in countries and regions with an ambitious national climate protection policy or strategy (NDC), or where the investments are targeted at reducing the share of coal-based power in the relevant grid.”

Previously, KfW had only ruled out financing the construction of new coal power plants, according to environmental NGO Urgewald. The NGO welcomed KfW’s decision, but added it followed “years of hesitation” while comparable French, Dutch and Swiss institutions stopped financing coal as early as 2013. “Sadly, KfW again misses an opportunity to take a leading role among public banks. It should have used its new energy rules to start the exit from other fossil fuels,” Urgewald said, adding KfW could still finance certain types of oil and gas production.