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David Fickling

What Bill Gates Gets Wrong About Fossil Fuels

Equity divestment makes little difference; debt is a different matter entirely.

Debt investors are turning off the tap for coal, oil and gas projects.

Debt investors are turning off the tap for coal, oil and gas projects.

Photographer: HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI/AFP/Getty Images

Investors are turning their back on fossil fuels.

Sweden’s central bank sold its holdings of sovereign debt issued by Canadian and Australian local governments dependent on fossil fuel extraction, the Riksbank said last week. A day later, the European Investment Bank said it would stop providing funding for conventional fossil fuels by 2022.