Paris, May 16, 2023 – At the BNP Paribas Annual General Meeting, management was questioned on numerous occasions about the climate. Scientists, NGOs and representatives of local communities impacted by the projects developed by Shell and TotalEnergies questioned the French bank. In the face of management’s lack of consistency, Reclaim Finance is once again calling on BNP Paribas to demand that oil and gas companies stop developing new projects, which it intends to stop financing directly.
Antoine Laurent, head of advocacy at Reclaim Finance, asked BNP Paribas to bring its financing practices into line. Although the French bank has decided to stop direct financing of new oil and gas projects, it continues to finance the companies that develop them. Indeed, the measures announced last week to stop financing gas projects only marginally affect majors such as TotalEnergies or Shell.
When the management of BNP Paribas responds to us by inviting us to trust them, we ask them for guarantees and consistency. This is what written commitments are for. The bank must demand that oil and gas companies stop new projects, in line with the climate scenario it claims to be referring to.
Antoine Laurent, Head of Advocacy France
While it is imperative to stop developing new oil and gas production and transportation projects (1), Jean-Laurent Bonnafé refuses to make this a red line that must not be crossed in order to continue supporting oil and gas companies. Claiming that they are in transition, he prefers to have “conversations” with these companies to perpetuate “good business”.
BNP Paribas is the leading financier of Shell and the second largest financier of TotalEnergies. It is also the first European bank to finance the 100 companies that are developing the most new oil and gas production and transport projects. It is also one of the few banks to have increased its financing for fossil fuels between 2021 and 2022 (2).
BNP Paribas has explicitly stated that it will not draw a red line against oil and gas expansion. This is an affront to the local communities impacted by the projects developed by the major oil and gas companies supported by the bank, such as Shell or TotalEnergies.
Antoine Laurent, Head of Advocacy France
Representing these local communities, Fernando Barraza, from the Mapuche community of Neuquén, and Father Edwin Gariguez, activist and Filipino priest, questioned management about the oil and shale gas projects in Argentina and the liquefied natural gas project in the Philippines. The questions were brushed aside by the management, which was content to assure them that it was not financing these projects directly.
