Investors call on five European banks to end new oil and gas finance

LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) – European banks threat jeopardising the trail to net-zero carbon emissions and the expansion of renewable vitality except they cease immediately financing new oil and fuel fields this 12 months, buyers managing belongings price greater than $1.5 trillion stated on Friday.

ShareAction stated on Friday it had made the demand in letters despatched to the heads of Barclays (BARC.L), BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), Credit score Agricole (CAGR.PA), Deutsche Financial institution (DBKGn.DE) and Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) this week.

The accountable funding NGO, which is coordinating the letters, stated the investor signatories embrace Aegon Asset Administration, La Française Asset Administration and Britain’s Native Authorities Pension Scheme.

ShareAction stated the 5 banks and Britain’s HSBC (HSBA.L) rank as the most important European financiers of the highest oil and fuel corporations increasing manufacturing between 2016 and 2021.

Nonetheless, HSBC stated in December that it will cease immediately financing new oil and fuel fields, becoming a member of different banks limiting asset financing, the NGO famous.

“Buyers are placing these banks on discover that they may face ever rising stress in the event that they don’t act quickly to reverse their financing of recent oil and fuel,” Jeanne Martin, ShareAction’s Head of the Banking Programme, stated.

A Barclays spokesperson stated the financial institution believed it may make the best distinction by working with clients and purchasers as they transition to a low-carbon financial system.

“This contains many oil and fuel corporations which are actively engaged and significant to the transition,” the spokesperson stated, including Barclays was reducing its financed emissions from vitality.

BNP Paribas stated in an electronic mail it had unveiled new targets final month to “speed up the transition to a low-carbon financial system”, together with ending financing of recent oil and fuel exploration and manufacturing and reducing fuel publicity.

Credit score Agricole stated it had already ended financing of recent oil extraction tasks, and that it had a plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Societe Generale declined to remark, however a spokesperson stated the financial institution would assess the letter as soon as its executives had obtained a duplicate. The spokesperson pointed to the French financial institution’s targets to scale back publicity to grease and fuel manufacturing by 2025.

Deutsche Financial institution didn’t reply to a request for remark.

Though banks have been tightening their lending standards for fossil fuels as a part of pledges to chop financed carbon emissions to zero by 2050, environmental teams say they’re doing too little, too late.

The Worldwide Vitality Company stated in 2021 that to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century, no funding into new oil, fuel and coal provide tasks was wanted.

Reporting by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes; Modifying by Alexander Smith

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Belief Ideas.