The world’s largest 60 banks have pumped $3.8 trillion (€3.2 trillion) into the fossil fuel industry in the five years since the Paris climate accord, a new report has revealed. The “Banking on Climate Chaos” report tracked the lending and underwriting activities of the world’s leading commercial and investment banks. The report noted that while JP Morgan recently committed to align its financing with the Paris Agreement, it “ continues essentially unrestrained financing of fossil fuels”. LeverageClimate groups have increasingly begun to focus on the financial pipeline behind the global fossil fuel industry in the belief that banks have the greatest leverage on their clients. It found that fossil fuel financing dropped by 9 per cent last year in parallel with a global drop in fossil fuel demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Source: The Irish Times March 24, 2021 03:58 UTC