Posted on 15 April 2023 by John Hartz

Story of the Week

Banks Say They’re Acting on Climate, But Continue to Finance Fossil Fuel Expansion

Two new reports say banks are not shifting away from fossil fuels fast enough. While lending declined last year, it was likely because oil companies were “swimming in profits.” 

If money makes the world go round, it should be no surprise that fossil fuel still powers the global economy. Ever since world leaders reached the Paris climate agreement in 2015 to limit warming and slash the pollution driving it, environmental groups have chronicled the continued flow of finance from the wealthiest banks to the oil and gas industry.

Climate advocates have been increasing the pressure on banks to change course, and many lenders have responded by adopting policies to reduce the climate pollution generated by their vast portfolios. Some have also pledged to stop financing certain types of fossil fuel extraction altogether, such as coal mining and Arctic drilling. But have those policies made any difference?

A pair of new reports provides a muddled picture. Banks lent significantly less money to fossil fuel companies last year, according to a report by a collection of environmental groups led by Rainforest Action Network. However, the decline was likely driven not by choices the banks made, the report said, but because oil companies were sitting on so much cash they didn’t need to borrow any. Many oil firms, including ExxonMobil and Chevron, earned record profits last year. 

Click here to access the entire article as originally posted on the Inside Climate News website.

Banks Say They’re Acting on Climate, But Continue to Finance Fossil Fuel Expansion by Nicholas Kusnetz, Fossil Fuels, Inside Climate News, Apr 13, 2023

Links posted on Facebook

Sun, Apr 9, 2023

• Climate change is leading to more home runs, study finds by David K. Li, Climate In Crises, NBC News, Apr 7, 2023
• ‘Headed off the charts’: world’s ocean surface temperature hits record high by Graham Readfearn, Environment, The Guardian, Apr 7, 2023
• Global warming risks ‘pushing’ fiercer hurricanes into the U.S.—especially Florida, new study says by Seth Borenstein, Environment, AP/Fortune Magazine, Apr 7, 2023
• The summary for policymakers of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sixth assessment reports synthesis by Rasmus Benestad, RealClimate, Apr 7, 2023

Mon, Apr 10, 2023

• Hiding Behind Whale Fatality Disinformation, Big Oil Works To Slow Offshore Wind Projects by Carolyn Fortuna, CleanTechnia, Apr 8, 2023
• More Than a Decade of Megadrought Brought a Summer of Megafires to Chile by James Whitlow Delano, Science, Inside Climate News, Apr 9, 2023
• In big climate move, EPA set to unveil tough limits on auto emissions by Timothy Puko, Climate, Washington Post, Apt 9, 2023
• Seas have drastically risen along southern U.S. coast in past decade by Chris Mooney & Brady Dennis, Climate, Washington Post, Apr 10, 2023

Tue, Apr 11, 2023

• Businesses face more and more pressure from investors to act on climate change by Michael Copely, Climate, NPR News, Apr 9, 2023
• Miami and New Orleans face greater sea-level threat than already feared by Richard Luscombe, Environment, The Guardian, Apr 10, 2023
• At a glance - Sun & climate: moving in opposite directions by John Mason & BaerbelW, Skeptical Science, Apr 11, 2023
• Australia’s climate battle has moved on – leaving deniers behind, Opinion by Michael Mann, Comment is Free, The Guardian, Apr 7, 2023

Wed, Apr 12, 2023

• Bubble trouble: Climate change is creating a huge and growing U.S. real estate bubble by Jeff Masters, Yale Climate Connections, Apr 10, 2023
• Climate deniers kicked out of teachers conference for deceptive comic book by Maxine Joselow, The Climate 202, Washington Post, Apr 11, 2023
• Does climate breakdown mean we’re doomed? No: if we’re brave, big change can happen fast, Opinion by Gaia Vince, Comment is Free, The Guardian, Apr 11, 2023

Thu, Apr 13, 2023

• 12 books for Earth Day, Review by Michael Svoboda, Yale Climate Connections, Apr 11, 2023
• Climate models warn of possible ‘super El Niño’ before end of year by Graham Readfearn, Australia News, The Guardian, Apr 11, 2023
• Meet the cranky uncle ‘vaccinating’ people against conspiracies by Angus Dalton, The Sydney Morning Herald, Apr 12, 2023
• A Golden Spike Would Mark the Earth’s Next Epoch: But Where? by Christian Schwägerl, Yale Environment 360, Apr 12, 2023

Fri, Apr 14, 2023

• Record clean-power growth in 2023 to spTanya Snyder, James Bikales & Alex Guillén, Energy & Environment, Politico, Apr 12, 2023ark ‘new era’ of fossil fuel decline by Josh Gabbatiss, Energy, Carbon Brief, Apr 12, 2023
• Biden unveils push to send electric car sales into overdrive by Tanya Snyder, James Bikales & Alex Guillén, Energy & Environment, Politico, Apr 12, 2023
• Q&A: What does the EU’s new deforestation law mean for climate and biodiversity? by Aruna Chandrasekhar & Orla Dwyer, Policy, Carbon Brief, Apr 13, 2023
• Drastic climate action is the best course for economic growth, new study finds by Dana Nuccitelli, Jobs & Economy, Yale Climate Connections, Apr 14, 2023

Sat, Apr 15, 2023

• The Conspiracy Theory Handbook: Downloads and translations (Albanian & Macedonian) by BaerbelW, Skeptical Science, Apr 14, 2023
• As Earth warms, more ‘flash droughts’ suck soil, plants dry by Seth Borenstein, AP News, Apr 13, 2023
• Banks Say They’re Acting on Climate, But Continue to Finance Fossil Fuel Expansion by Nicholas Kusnetz, Fossil Fuels, Inside Climate News, Apr 13, 2023