22 July 2025 \u2013 A new net-zero standard for financial institutions rules out support for companies developing new coal, oil and gas projects, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure. The Science Based Targets initiative net zero standard for financial institutions (SBTi FINZ), published today, is intended to enable banks, investors and insurers to set emissions reduction targets that are consistent with achieving net-zero across their portfolios by 2050 (1). Reclaim Finance welcomes the strong signal on fossil fuel finance but warns that the 2030 cut-off for general corporate financing is not aligned with scientific evidence and still enables new expansion. The NGO urges financial institutions to immediately end essential services to fossil fuel developers to meet the 2030 deadline.<\/p>\n<\/div>
According to the new standard, which has been in development since 2021 (2), financial institutions that want their climate targets to be validated by the SBTi must publish a \u201cfossil fuel transition policy\u201d (3) which requires them to:<\/p>\n
The SBTi is sending a welcome clear message that no financial services should be provided to companies developing coal, oil or gas. Financial institutions just cannot wait until 2030 to do this if we are to avoid a massive carbon lock-in that would destroy any hope of climate mitigation (5). In practical terms, this means they must start to phase out financing for oil and gas expansion now.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div> Paul Schreiber, senior policy analyst at Reclaim Finance and a member of the SBTi Expert Advisory Group<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> Indeed, only 7% of the financing provided by banks to fossil fuel companies comes in the form of project finance (6). Most of the financial services are granted at corporate level and could notably help finance the 200 billion barrels of resources from new oil and gas fields already planned to be approved between 2026 and 2030, the equivalent of 3.6 times global production in 2023 (7).<\/p>\n Reclaim Finance therefore calls on financial institutions to immediately end loans, bond underwriting, and insurance coverage to companies developing fossil fuels. These financial services play a central role in the development of oil and gas and ending them now is a key step in meeting the SBTi criteria and 2030 deadline.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>