Banks could commit to being better administrators of the planet by reducing emissions and other actions, but their money keeps the oil pump for the time being.
About 60 of the world’s largest commercial and investment banks have invested a total of $ 3.8 billion in fossil fuels from 2016 to 2020, five years after the signing of the Paris Voluntary Agreement. The purpose of the multinational pact is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and, preferably, to 1.5 degrees, compared to pre-industrial levels. In addition to financing oil slicks, global coal projects continue to be funded as well.
This is according to a report called Banking on Climate Chaos 2021 published on Wednesday by a handful of climate organizations, including the Rainforest Action Network. The group’s financial sector review has been published every year for more than a decade.
The three banks that achieved the most fossil fuel financing in 2020, according to the report, were JPMorgan Chase JPM,
at $ 51.3 billion; Citi C,
at $ 48.4 billion; and Bank of America BAC,
with $ 42.1 billion. JPMorgan’s financing of fossil fuels since the Paris Declaration reached $ 317 billion to run all the banks, according to the report. Wells funding from Wells Fargo & Co. in the fossil fuel space it fell by 42% to $ 26.4 billion in 2020.
Read: Goldman Sachs pressed to reveal whether its oil patch financing works against the zero net emissions target
French bank BNP Paribas BNP,
It turned out to increase its loans to oil, gas and similar interest rates by 41% in 2020 compared to the previous year. Its customers included BP BP,
TOTAL DEAD,
and Royal Dutch Shell RDS.A,
who are committed to reducing their dependence on fossil fuels and investing more in renewable energy businesses.
Annually, total fossil fuel funding in the banks of the report decreased by 9% in 2020, although it is largely due to the closure of COVID-19.
Read: Global investors with $ 54 billion tell companies that commit to zero net to show their work
“This report serves as a reality check for banks that believe that vague ‘net-zero’ targets are enough to stop the climate crisis,” said Lorne Stockman, a senior research analyst at Oil Change International. “Our future goes where the money flows, and in 2020 these banks have shown billions to block us in the additional climate chaos.”
Bank of America earlier this year joined other large banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley MS,
committed to net greenhouse gas emissions by financing it before 2050. Bank of America, as part of a group working to align carbon accounting reporting, said at the time that it was committed to disclosing its funded emissions. by 2023 at the latest.
Val Smith, Citi’s chief sustainability officer, said in a blog post this week that the lender will work with existing fossil fuel bank customers to first move to public reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and, Finally, the phasing out of funding for companies that do not comply with carbon abatement standards.
Banks continue to advise other companies in the transition from dependence on fossil fuels. The economic impact of climate change could reach $ 69 billion this century, and investments in the energy transition must increase to $ 4 trillion a year, the head of global research said in a report earlier this year. of thematic investments of Bank of America, Haim Israel.
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