- Major banks supplied $6.8 trillion to fossil fuels because the 2015 Paris Agreement.
- Banks argue their funding supports energy shift, however critics state it’s not enough.
- Greater openness is required to comprehend how bank funds are infact utilized.
Despite increasing pressure to defund oil and gas companies in assistance of global decarbonisation efforts, lotsof significant banks are continuing to offer funding to fossil fuel business. A current report from the U.S. organisation Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and partners exposed that in the years following the 2015 Paris Agreement, the 60 biggest personal banks in the world supplied $6.8 trillion in financing to fossil fuels. Over the past 8 years, roughly $3.3 trillion went to fossil fuel growth. These banks supported over 4,200 fossil fuel business with loans and securities deals or underwriting. In 2023, after numerous significant banks had vowed to minimize or end financing to oil and gas business as part of the Net Zero Banking Alliance, funding for fossil fuel business reached $705 billion, with $347 going towards growth.
The report reveals that JPMorgan Chase was the greatest financer for fossil fuels, contributing $40.8 billion in financing to fossil fuel business in2023 This is followed by the Japanese bank Mizuho, which supplied $37 billion in funding, with $18.8 billion contributing to fossil fuel growth. Citibank was likewise a significant factor, offering $204 billion to fossil fuel business giventhat2016 Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank provided almost $13.4 billion, DZ Bank $2.5 billion, Barclays $24.2 billion and Santander $14.5 billion to the fossil fuel market in 2023.
The Research and Policy Manager at RAN and the report’s co-author April Merleaux stated, “Wall Street’s greatest issue is earnings, our primary issue is environment and human rights. While the banks benefiting from environment mayhem produce brand-new greenwashing tales every year, our information reveals how much cash they are infact putting into fossil fuels. Merleaux included, “Our report’s brand-new method reveals formerly unidentified information about bank funding of fossil fuels and offers activists brand-new tools to face the banks. Our information reveals that bank funding of fossil fuels is not decreasing almost quick enough. In 2023, almost $350 billion has streamed to fossil fuel business, incompatible with genuine environment dedications.”
Critics of the report stated there was little proof proving where the financing went in the fossil fuel sector, with anumberof banks reacting that their financing generally went towards green shift efforts by energy business. It was uncertain whether some of the growth financing went to supporting brand-new green