29 March 2018
By Alice Cuddy
Leading European banks have taken steps to reduce their financing of “extreme” fossil fuels that contribute to global climate change, according to a new report. The report especially highlights the Netherland's ING and France’s BNP Paribas as good options for environmentally conscious customers.
The report, Banking on Climate Change, by NGOs including BankTrack and the Rainforest Action Network, says many European banks have “realised the risks” of climate change and put policy restrictions on fossil fuel financing.
“Extreme” fossil fuels include those that contribute the most to climate change, such as tar sands, oil extracted from the Arctic and ultra-deepwater, liquefied natural gas exports, and coal.
“Across the board, the majority of the 14 European banks we assessed have reduced their financing for ‘extreme’ fossil fuels in 2017,” BankTrack climate campaigner Greig Aitken told Euronews.
The leaders
In June 2017, ING showed its commitment to ending financing for the production and transport of carbon-heavy tar sand by saying it would not fund any of Canada’s major pipeline projects, including Keystone XL and Line 3....
...The worst offenders
Three major European banks - HSBC, Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered - increased their “extreme” fossil fuel financing in 2017 by $2.6 billion (€2.1 billion), $1.1 billion, and $643 million respectively placing them among the 10 worst climate offenders in the world, according to the report....
...The worst offenders
Three major European banks - HSBC, Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered - increased their “extreme” fossil fuel financing in 2017 by $2.6 billion (€2.1 billion), $1.1 billion, and $643 million respectively placing them among the 10 worst climate offenders in the world, according to the report....
