Don't Bank on It!

Climate scientists and economists maintain that stopping oil and gas production is essential, to reduce global carbon emissions. In April 2021, many banks signed up to the UN-backed Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) accepting targets to reduce carbon emissions. In May 2021, the International Energy Agency reiterated that no new oil and gas fields can be exploited, if we are to have any chance of reaching net zero by 2050. Without reaching net zero in that (already generous) time-frame, global heating will certainly exceed the somewhat arbitrary 'safe' target of 1.5 degrees Centigrade above pre-industrial levels. The banks, however, would surely put a brake on expanding oil and gas exploitation? Au contraire, ShareAction estimate that 25 banks who signed up to NZBA, have since provided at least £24bn in loans and other financing, to 50 companies with large oil and gas expansion plans (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/feb/14/europes-biggest-banks-provide-24bn-to-oil-and-gas-firms-despite-net-zero-pledges). Much of the financing by NZBA banks has been directed to ExxonMobile, Saudi Aramco, BP and Shell. The major European banks providing the finance, prominently feature Barclays, BNP Parabas and HSBC. Most of the banks and the recipients of their funding, still claim, when questioned, that they are committed to net zero by 2050. 'Greenwash' appears to reaching the heart of European finance?