September 8, 2026, Paris<\/span>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/span>T<\/span>he\u00a0<\/span>European Central Bank\u00a0<\/span>is<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>fueling biodiversity loss by\u00a0<\/span>enabling<\/span>\u00a0financing for<\/span>\u00a0companies\u00a0<\/span>with<\/span>\u00a0fossil fuel activities in critical biodivers<\/span>ity<\/span>\u00a0areas<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>according to new research published today<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[1]<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Reclaim Finance<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>found th<\/span>e ECB\u00a0<\/span>both holds<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>assets\u00a0<\/span>in<\/span>\u00a0its portfolios<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>accept<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>assets<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>as collateral<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0from\u00a0<\/span>companies w<\/span>hose<\/span>\u00a0fossil fuel activities\u00a0<\/span>threaten<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>important<\/span>\u00a0areas<\/span>\u00a0for nature<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>T<\/span>he<\/span>\u00a0ECB<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>also\u00a0<\/span>allows<\/span>\u00a0the banks that it supervises to finance\u00a0<\/span>activities that pose a risk<\/span>\u00a0to biodiversity, with<\/span>\u00a0US$161 billion\u00a0<\/span>in support\u00a0<\/span>for<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>these\u00a0<\/span>companies<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>between 2021 and 2025<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Reclaim Finance\u00a0<\/span>highlights<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the ECB<\/span>'s failure<\/span>\u00a0to recognize the impacts of fossil fuels on biodiversity and\u00a0<\/span>calls for it<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to end support for companies whose activities damage critical ecosystems.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div> The European Central Bank (ECB)\u00a0is\u00a0failing to ensure\u00a0that its own monetary\u00a0policy\u00a0and the wider banking system\u00a0address the risks to biodiversity\u00a0from fossil fuels\u00a0[2],\u00a0despite\u00a0having\u00a0recognized\u00a0that healthy ecosystems are essential for\u00a0financial\u00a0and price\u00a0stability\u00a0[3].\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Reclaim Finance\u00a0looked at\u00a0whether\u00a0ECB\u00a0policies enable\u00a0financing for\u00a080 companies\u00a0identified as\u00a0posing a risk to\u00a0critical\u00a0biodiversity\u00a0areas\u00a0because\u00a0of their\u00a0fossil fuel activities\u00a0[4].<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u00a0found\u00a0that\u00a0one in\u00a010\u00a0bonds in the\u00a0ECB's corporate\u00a0monetary\u00a0portfolios\u00a0[5]\u00a0were\u00a0tied to\u00a0companies with fossil fuel activities in\u00a0critical biodiversity\u00a0areas\u00a0as recently as\u00a0May 2026.\u00a0The ECB held\u00a0bonds\u00a0from\u00a015\u00a0companies\u00a0[6]\u00a0including\u00a0TotalEnergies,\u00a0whose East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project\u00a0threatens\u00a0key\u00a0areas such as\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0Wembere\u00a0Steppe\u00a0in Tanzania\u00a0\u2013\u00a0a\u00a0vital area for birdlife\u00a0\u2013,<\/span>\u00a0and BP,\u00a0whose\u00a0<\/span>Tangguh\u00a0LNG\u00a0project\u00a0in the Coral Triangle\u00a0threatens a global epicenter for marine biodiversity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ECB\u00a0policies are\u00a0also boosting\u00a0the value of\u00a0companies\u00a0whose activities\u00a0pose\u00a0a biodiversity risk\u00a0in critical areas, with\u00a0banks allowed to pledge\u00a0assets from\u00a020\u00a0of these\u00a0companies\u00a0as\u00a0collateral\u00a0in the last 18 months. This included assets from several oil majors,\u00a0as well as\u00a0gas transport and storage companies\u00a0[7].<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> The European Centra<\/span>l Bank\u00a0<\/span>is paying increasing attention to<\/span>\u00a0nature, but\u00a0<\/span>it\u00a0<\/span>is ig<\/span>noring the impacts of fossil fuels on biodiversity.\u00a0<\/span>It makes no sense to recognize biodiversity is essential\u00a0<\/span>for\u00a0<\/span>financial\u00a0<\/span>and price\u00a0<\/span>stability<\/span>\u00a0while\u00a0<\/span>at the same time\u00a0<\/span>enabling financing\u00a0<\/span>for companies involved in\u00a0<\/span>fossil fuel activities\u00a0<\/span>which\u00a0<\/span>t<\/span>h<\/span>reaten<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>some of the most critical areas around the world.\u00a0<\/span>The ECB must\u00a0<\/span>urgently\u00a0<\/span>fix<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>its<\/span>\u00a0approach<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div> Clarisse Murphy,<\/span><\/span> Reclaim Finance central banks campaigner<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> The analysis found that\u00a0<\/span>although the ECB claims to be taking nature-related risks increasingly into\u00a0account\u00a0[8], its\u00a0failure to address the root causes of biodiversity loss has\u00a0prevented it from ensuring that EU-banks take appropriate measures to prevent their financing from harming biodiversity<\/span>.\u00a0Thirty-three\u00a0of the<\/span>\u00a0major banks under its supervision provided\u00a0US$161 billion to companies with fossil fuel\u00a0activities in\u00a0critical biodiversity areas\u00a0between 2021 and 2025\u00a0[9].\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Reclaim Finance is calling on the ECB to update its approach to nature and end all support to companies whose fossil fuel activities endanger critical ecosystems. It urges the ECB to recognize the role the fossil fuel activities play in driving biodiversity loss, and to exclude companies with fossil fuels activities in critical biodiversity areas from monetary policy tools, while also setting expectations for banks under its supervision to end support for these companies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>