No more toxic bonds
Banks must cut ties with fossil fuel expansion
The bond market is a critical source of finance for the world’s most polluting companies. Although climate experts stress the urgent need to halt new fossil fuel projects, companies involved in fossil fuel expansion continue to raise billions through global bond markets. In order to do so, these companies rely on a chain of financial institutions, including banks, investors and credit rating agencies. The live tracker below reveals which banks are involved in the most recent and most toxic bond issuances.
Bonds, a key financing source for polluting companies
The bond market is increasingly being used as a piggy bank for the world’s most polluting companies. The share of bonds in the funding strategies of fossil fuel companies has nearly doubled over the past decade. In 2024 and 2023, according to the Banking on Climate Chaos report, 51% of financing for companies involved in fossil fuel expansion came from corporate bonds, representing US$391 billion in bond issuances.
There are several reasons for this high reliance on bonds :
- Bonds give companies access to a larger pool of capital compared to relying solely on bank loans. Bonds tap into the broader capital markets, including institutional investors such as pension funds, insurers, and asset managers.
- Bonds offer a safe haven for fossil fuel companies, as the funds raised are typically unrestricted. Unlike dedicated financing, bond proceeds can readily be used for new fossil fuel projects, fitting into the company’s overall investment plans without external oversight.
- Some of the largest fossil fuel developers are not publicly traded, such as ADNOC, Freeport LNG and QatarEnergy. For these companies, issuing bonds is often the only way to access capital markets without depending entirely on bank loans.
Because bonds usually finance general corporate needs, the capital raised via these bonds can be used by fossil fuel companies to expand their activities. As such, the bond market plays a substantial role in funding new projects and activities within the coal, oil and gas sectors.
The tracker below shows information on the banks involved in the outstanding bonds (i.e. bonds in circulation and not yet repaid to investors) of 35 of the companies with the biggest fossil fuel expansion plans. The bonds accounted for in the tracker do not include green bonds, which are bonds earmarked to finance projects with environmental benefits (see green bond section below).
Companies active in the coal sector (mining, power or infrastructure)
Companies active in the upstream part of the oil and gas value chain
Companies active in the midstream part of the oil and gas value chain
In order to issue a bond, companies rely on a chain of financial institutions: investment banks, investors and credit rating agencies. The roles described below are key to the bond issuance process.
The majority of bonds issued are ordinary (“vanilla”) bonds, with funds not earmarked for specific projects but financing the issuer’s overall operations.
But some bonds are “labelled” to support companies’ climate transition and include certain conditions. These include green, social, sustainability and sustainability linked bonds. Labelled bonds make up roughly 10% of the global corporate bond market in 2024.
Some see such instruments as a “green” way out. However, with little supervision, they cover a multitude of realities, including the financing of non-green projects or the use of weak, cosmetic conditions by companies that remain active in highly polluting sectors without credible 1.5°C-aligned plans.
The banks behind fossil fuel bonds
Fossil fuel financing through bonds is made possible primarily by the banks involved in the bond issuance process.
Banks play a significant role in underwriting and facilitating bond issuances, connecting companies with investors and structuring the transactions. Yet, banks tend to not take responsibility for this role and thus the role bonds play in accelerating the climate crisis. Today, most international banks do not include capital market activities in their decarbonization targets and none have set targets to reduce the volume of fossil fuel financing facilitated on the capital markets – despite this type of target being the most effective in driving decarbonization.
That’s why it’s key to track the toxic fossil fuel bonds being issued every day, and to call on banks to take responsibility for all financial services they provide, including lending and credit services, bond underwriting, and advisory work.
The tracker below displays banks’ involvement in the outstanding bonds of 35 companies with fossil fuel expansion plans. The information is updated monthly to include the latest bond issuances, allowing us to identify the banks involved in every new bond deal.
Live tracker of banks’ involvement in recent fossil fuel bond issuances
Last updated: 31/07/2025
| Bank | Fossil fuel company | Number of bond issuances facilitated (total) | Number of recent bond issuances facilitated (since 01.01.2023) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allianz Global Investors | Cheniere Energy Inc | 1 | 0 |
Disclaimer: Reclaim Finance believes the information communicated comes from reliable sources and has made every effort to ensure the information is correct and data analysis is sound. However, Reclaim Finance does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or correctness of any of the information or analysis and, in any event, disclaims any liability for the use of such information or analysis by third parties. You can contact us at research@reclaimfinance.org if you believe our data contains some inaccuracies. We will make every effort to address it and make any necessary corrections.
Key trends
Recommendations
Banks often play a significant role in underwriting and facilitating bond issuances. In the context of the climate emergency, they must refrain from providing this key support to companies as long as they are still developing new fossil fuel projects.
To stop contributing to locking in fossil fuel expansion, banks should:
- Adopt a policy that ends general purpose corporate financing towards companies involved in the expansion of coal, and/or upstream and midstream oil and gas. Such a policy should also restrict financial support to companies involved in gas power development. The policy should cover both lending and capital market services.
- Implement adequate decarbonization targets to reduce, and ultimately phase-out, all financing to fossil fuels. These targets should cover all material financial services provided to companies involved in any segment of the fossil fuel value chain. Targets should differentiate fossil fuel subsectors, each with a clear reduction pathway, interim targets, and phase-out dates. They may also be set per financial service, e.g., specific targets for reducing both credit exposure and capital markets facilitation.
