Copublished with Friends of the Earth France, Sierra Club, Climate Action Network France, Beyond Fossil Fuels, Rainforest Action Network, Make My Money Matter<\/p>\n<\/div>
24 October 2023 \u2013 A new tracker launched today by 13 NGOs, including Reclaim Finance, reveals the biggest global banks do not have the basic policies and financing targets needed to support decarbonization of the power sector (1). While some European banks have a target for financing sustainable power supplies, they are leaving the door open to financing false solutions in the name of the transition and\u00a0 almost all continue to support the expansion of fossil fuels. This is at a time when annual funding for the energy transition needs to be multiplied by 2.5 between now and 2030 to achieve net zero by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency (2). The NGOs are calling on the banks to massively increase their support for sustainable power and to immediately stop supporting the expansion of fossil fuels. <\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div> The new Sustainable Power Policy Tracker (SPPT), which is intended to encourage the banks to commit to financing sustainable power, looks at whether the 60 biggest global banks have the targets and policies in place to ensure a transition to decarbonised power.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While 2\/3 of the assessed banks have adopted targets for decarbonising power supplies, following the International Energy Agency\u2019s Net Zero Emissions scenario, the scenario also says that a significant increase in finance for sustainable power is required.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The tracker, which finds that none of the world\u2019s biggest banks are currently on track, examines:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The shift from fossil fuels can<\/span>not happen without <\/span>significant investment in the develo<\/span>p<\/span>ment of <\/span>sustainable power supplies<\/span>. Banks must redirect their finance and investments away from the fossil fuel sector and also away from \u201cfalse solutions\u201d.\u00a0 <\/span>Given the urgence of the climate emergency, banks must end thei<\/span>r love affair with the fossil fuel sector and rapidly\u00a0 embrace sustainable power.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div> Reclaim Finance analyst Remi Hermant<\/span><\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> According to the new tool, j<\/span>ust 8 banks globally have a target for financing sustainable power supplies: the French banks BNP Paribas, BPCE, Cr\u00e9dit Agricole, Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 G\u00e9n\u00e9rale, La Banque Postale, the German bank DZ Bank and Dutch banks ING and Rabobank. Yet, none of the banks excluded \u201cfalse solutions\u201d such as biomass or fossil fuel related technologies from their definition of \u201csustainable\u201d and none of the banks had clear targets for increasing installed capacity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n European banks all scored weakly for transparent reporting, with UK banks HSBC, Standard Chartered and Lloyds scoring zero.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the United States, none of the banks, which include Citi, Bank of America and JP Morgan\u00a0 have capacity targets or financing targets for sustainable power.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While finance for the energy transition remains well below what is needed, almost all banks continue to finance the expansion of fossil fuels (4). Only 2 banks \u2013 La Banque Postale and Danske Bank \u2013 have made a committment to stop financing oil and gas expansion (5).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> So many European banks claim to be a leader of the energy transition, but the reality is that the vast majority still favour financing coal and fossil gas over sustainable power. For Europe to deliver on its climate responsibilities, it needs to transition to a renewables-based power system by 2035 at the latest. Time is running out. Banks have a responsibility to provide financing at the speed and scale needed to protect the climate and deliver a power system that\u00a0 is in harmony with\u00a0 people, nature and communities.<\/span><\/span> Brigitte Alarcon, Campaigner at Beyond Fossil Fuels<\/span><\/span> Reclaim Finance and partners are encouraging banks to step up and support the energy transition by adopting policies to support power generation from sustainable sources by committing to a 6:1 financing ratio by 2030 for sustainable power compared to fossil fuels (with\u00a0six dollars for sustainable power supply for every one dollar spent on fossil fuels) and by <\/span><\/b>immediately ending support for fossil fuel expansion.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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