Towards Fossil Free Lending in the European Union?

How can one of the world’s largest multi-lateral banks be moved by seemingly small actors, such as civil society organisations (CSOs) to exclude from its lending portfolio one of the most powerful industries in the global economy? This case study analyses the ‘Fossil Free EIB’ campaign by a transnational civil society coalition in Europe urging the European Investment Bank, the lending arm of the European Union, to discontinue its financial support of fossil fuel projects, such as gas pipelines. The proposal hence is relevant to the section’s themes of energy politics (actors, interests, institutions) and fossil fuels phase-out. The case is an example of how civil society organisations with very different sets of skills, expertise but also underlying theories of change were able to combine into a strategic hybrid model of so-called inside lobbying (including expert talks, briefings, reports and so on) and an outside approach (including public actions, online petitions and social media campaigns). The case is made that while different forms of collective action are required to achieve change, each approach may yield different types of results. The discussion of findings explains why lobbying efforts may not be sufficient to leverage structural changes, as classical policy advocacy methods do not address power relations that underlie processes of policy formulation and implementation. Yet, achieving long-term structural changes, such as an economy that is not based on fossil fuels, requires shifting underlying power relations. To tackle power dynamics between social actors, such as movements, governments and the fossil fuel industry, requires an adequate and actionable concept of power. A conceptual tool is proposed to capture and assess power dynamics between the stakeholders. While raising political salience is an important task, achieving their goals requires movements to do much more than only mobilising the public. Successful movements often base their strategies on diligent power analyses sufficiently detailed to inform more nuanced, targeted tactics, such as winning over support from specific groups, shifting loyalties, particularly to create defections in the ranks of the adversary. The presented findings are part of a broader qualitative explorative study on the strategic repertoire of movements and its effect on the scope of movement outcomes. Data is collected and analysed from semi-structured interviews with the relevant stakeholders in the dynamics, as well as existing case documentation by the various involved organisations, as well as newspaper coverage and literature on the global fossil fuel divestment movement, which is part of the climate justice movement.