Banking on climate chaos – Fossil fuel finance report 2021

FOCUS

This report analyzes fossil fuel financing by the top 60 commercial and investment banks from around the world. It tracks these banks’ lending and underwriting of debt to the 100 largest fossil fuel companies in the world. It was published on March 24, 2021 and has been collectively written by major climate action groups Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International, Reclaim Finance, and Sierra Club. 

The report revealed that between 2016-2020 leading banks like JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Barclays provided financial services adding up to $3.8 trillion on projects on expanding the use of fossil fuels. The report emphasized the need for immediate action like ending financing for all new fossil fuel projects and an interim target to half the current fossil fuel financing by 2030. It is noted that without these direct measures the UN IPCC’s warning for impending catastrophe caused by breaching of the 1.5°C of global warming threshold is inevitable. 

This 157-page document is majorly categorized into 6 chapters: Introduction (Chapter 1); Fossil fuel expansion (Chapter 2); Spotlight fossil fuels – tar sands oil, artic oil & gas, offshore oil & gas, fracked oil & gas, liquified natural gas, coal mining, coal power (Chapter 3); Financed emissions and the road to Glasgow (Chapter 4); Human rights (Chapter 5); Conclusions and Demands (Chapter 6). 

    FACTOIDS

  1. Fossil fuel financing by the largest 60 banks fell by nine per cent in 2020 when compared to figures from the previous year 2019 due to Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent global lockdown. But this is after consecutive year-on-year increase since 2016 between the range of 4.4 per cent to 5.5 per cent.

  2. JP Morgan Chase continues to occupy the highest fossil fuel financier title since 2016 with around $317 billion invested in fossil fuel companies between 2016-2020, almost 33 per cent over Citi, which is the second biggest emission financier. 

  3. France-based BNP Paribas, even with its well marketed clean, green credentials, was the fourth highest spender. It spent $40.8 billion in fossil fuel financing in 2020, a 41 per cent increase from 2019 and 141 per cent increase from 2016.

  4. The North American and European banks dominated the list of 60 top fossil fuel financiers. From the rest of the world, Japanese banks MUFG and Mizuho finished at 6th and 8th positions respectively. And the biggest Chinese bank, Bank of China was placed at 14th rank.

  5. State Bank of India spent a total of $21.4 billion between 2016-2020 on fossil fuel projects. 


  6. The offshore oil and gas financing is on a rise with top 14 of the banks showing higher level of financing in 2020 compared to 2016. BNP Paribas is the top funder in the sector followed by an array of American banks. With Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) being portrayed as the transition fuel, the 30 top LNG companies have received the largest finance support in 2020 since the Paris Climate Agreement. 

  7. Coal mining finance is dominated by Chinese banks led by Industrial Bank, China Construction Bank, and Bank of China. In fact, the 13 Chinese banks in the report provide 80 per cent of finance for coal mining.

  8. The carbon credits based on land use change such as plantation activities threatens the livelihood and food security of indigenous communities, the report adds.


    Focus and Factoids by Aditya Prem Kumar.

AUTHOR

Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International, Reclaim Finance, and Sierra Club

COPYRIGHT

Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International, Reclaim Finance, and Sierra Club

PUBLICATION DATE

23 ಮಾರ್ಚ್, 2021

TAGS

#climate-change #finance #fossil-fuels

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