This is the main conclusion of research conducted by twenty-eight NGOs, including Reclaim Finance, Friends of the Earth France and Urgewald: banks continue to finance the coal industry. Among these financial institutions, many are members of alliances for carbon neutrality, and have pledged to no longer invest in companies deemed too exposed to the sector, a double discourse which is shocking as much as the amounts are astronomical.
It is 1,500 billion dollars of financing that has been paid by these big banks to the coal industry, between January 2019 and November 2021, in the form of loans and issues of shares and bonds. And 80% of these financial institutions are concentrated in just six countries: the United States, China, Japan, India, Canada and the United Kingdom.
But France is not to be outdone, Crédit Agricole, which prides itself on being the “green bank”, has continued to finance the coal sector in defiance of its own climate commitments.
“Act every day in your interest and that of the Company”. Truly @Agricultural credit ? ?
While the bank ?? was the 1st to adopt a climate strategy in 2019, we detected several breaches of its own coal policy in 2021.
Decryption ?⬇️ pic.twitter.com/g0q1HSyWms
— Reclaim Finance (@ReclaimFinance) February 15, 2022
► To consult : The Coal Company Watchlist of the NGO Reclaim Finance
Because these banks have publicly committed to an approach that encourages the exit from fossil fuels. Now, this report shows that more than 90% of companies in the sector they finance still do not have credible strategies that are compatible with climate imperatives.
Worse, some are actively developing new coal mines and power plants around the world, such as the Anglo-Swiss commodities trading giant Glencore and the Japanese trading company Marubeni. Companies that are posting record profits and which continue to have the support of the banking sector.
NGOs are calling for better oversight of the financial sector to provide the means to achieve climate goals.
► Read also : The “greenwashing”, a great masquerade denounced with virulence on social networks