Global banks continue to support fossil fuels (but the French a little less)

The 60 banks studied totaled $705.8 billion in different forms of financial support last year.

The world’s banking giants, led by the United States and Japan, lent or arranged more than $700 billion last year for the benefit of fossil fuels, according to the report entitled “Banking on Climate Chaos” unveiled Monday, May 13. This amount is nevertheless on a downward slope, particularly among French banks. “Banks must urgently stop financing oil and gas expansion and favor financing for sustainable energy for electricity production”, comments Lucie Pinson, founder of the NGO Reclaim Finance, quoted in a press release. Since the signing of the Paris agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era, there have been nearly 6,896 billion dollars in loans, issuance of stocks or bonds that went to oil, gas and coal companies.

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In detail, the approximately 60 banks studied last year totaled $705.8 billion in different forms of financial support, an amount down 9.5% over one year. The American group JPMorgan is the leading financial supporter of fossil fuels, with nearly $41 billion last year (+5.4%), ahead of the Japanese Mizuho and MUFG, according to data collected by eight NGOs, including ReclaimFinance.

The figures also show a gradual withdrawal of the major French banks. In 2023, “one of the notable developments is the reduction in financing from French banks to these companies”notes Reclaim Finance. The share of the six major French banks (BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale and BPCE for the most part, Crédit Mutuel and La Banque Postale) was around 40 billion dollars last year, or around 10 billion less only in 2022.