This report analyses fossil fuel financing from the world’s 60 largest commercial and investment banks. It finds that these banks poured a total of $3.8 trillion into fossil fuels from 2016–2020. The study finds that although fossil fuel financing dropped by 9% last year amid the Covid-19 pandemic, it remained higher than in 2016.
The paper details case studies where bank financing has resulted in harmful impacts on communities around the world, such as tar sands and Arctic oil and gas. The authors state that, although banks have pledged to reduce their finance emissions to net zero by 2050, these commitments should not be taken seriously unless those banks also act on fossil fuels in 2021.
The paper calls on banks to commit to phase out all financing for fossil fuel extraction, combustion, and infrastructure on an explicit timeline that is aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
This page was last updated October 22, 2021
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