Renewable Revolution

BANKS NAMED IN THIS DIGEST:
BNP Paribas
Crédit Agricole
Deutsche Bank
FICOHSA Bank
Intesa Sanpaolo
JPMorgan Chase
Natixis / BCPE
Société Générale
Standard Chartered
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust

July 30, 2021

Dear Anthony,

With less than a hundred days to Glasgow, it seems the planet is trying to tell us something. Heatwaves, forest fires and devastating 🌊 floods occupy the news every day. The record for the highest temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth was broken, again. The climate crisis is upon us, and to credibly address the problem, banks need to come forward before Glasgow with commitments to reduce their fossil fuel financing rapidly.

This is not only our view, but the view of asset managers worth $4.2 trillion, who wrote to banks this month. And it is in line with what Dr. Fatih Birol of the IEA told the UK government last week. Moves like Intesa Sanpaolo's this month, which refer to fossil gas as a "low carbon alternative", are not going to cut it. While their new policy contains some steps forward, we've passed the point where we can applaud baby steps that leave space for financing new fossil fuel projects that will make this crisis worse.

Thankfully, there is a global movement working to get the message across to banks everywhere. Earlier this year, BankTrack launched fossilbanks.org, a platform that aims to support this movement and profile the many campaigns targeting "fossil banks" globally. Please do get in touch if you have a campaign you'd like us to feature on this platform. Groups and individuals alike can sign up to support our Global Call on Banks to rapidly shut down their finance for the 🦖 fossil fuel 👿 industry and finance a just energy transition.

Also in this month's newsletter, bank ties to companies supporting the military junta in Myanmar are deeper than first thought. And a new dodgy deal on Formosa Plastics' "Sunshine Project" in Louisiana's so-called "Cancer Alley", a textbook case of environmental racism despite the cheerful name.

With best wishes,

The BankTrack Team

BankTrack July News Digest