Major global banks continue to finance fossil fuels, report says

The sixty large international financial entities continue to finance fossil fuel projects, responsible for the global warming and the current climate emergency, with JP Morgan, Citigroup and Bank of America leading the way, followed by Asian banks.

This is reflected in the report “Banking on Climate Chaos”, prepared with information from several organizations, including Banktrack, RAN and Reclaim Finance, presented this Monday by Ecologistas en Acción in Spain.

The study, which collects data from 2016 – the year of entry into force of the Paris Agreement– until 2023, points out that despite the commitments made by this financial sector and confirmed at the Climate Summits, the 60 largest banks in the world in companies with businesses in fossil fuels It reached US$705 billion in 2023.

A figure that rises to US$ 6.9 billion since the signing of the Paris Agreement, which establishes the commitment to reduce emissions to the atmosphere to control the rise in temperature on the planet and the impact of climatic phenomena.

The list of total fossil fuel financing is headed by JP Morgan (US$430.93 billion), followed by Citigroup (US$396.33 billion); Bank of America (US$ 333,160 million) and in which Asian banking, with large interests in the sector, occupies the next place, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (US$ 307,670 million).

Among the Spanish banks, which have investments in Latin America, Santander is in position 31 in the classification out of a total of 60 bankswith a total investment of US$ 79,881 million since 2016 allocated to the fossil fuel business.

The report highlights that the liquefied fossil gas sector (LNG) It is one of the businesses that is growing the most. In 2023, companies in the sector received US$121 billion from the banks analyzed, a figure slightly higher than the US$116 billion in 2022.

Ecologistas en Acción considers that these are “alarming” data, because although LNG is being sold as a clean fuel, it is a fossil fuel and “according to recent studies it has been proven that it has a greater impact on the climate than previously thought.” what was thought.”