'Fuelling climate chaos': How big banks poured $750bn into fossil fuels during the pandemic year

Cecilia Keating
clock • 8 min read

Fossil fuel financing declined by nine per cent in 2020 amid the economic downturn, but campaigners warn overall trend is 'one heading definitively in the wrong direction'

Net zero commitments may have ricocheted across banking sector over the last 18 months, but big banks' attestations of climate concern did not stop many of them from expanding financing for the world's...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

More on Investment

Financial firms join UK taskforce to help unlock climate investment in developing economies

Financial firms join UK taskforce to help unlock climate investment in developing economies

UK government's Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDE) Investor Taskforce highlights potential for tenfold returns from backing climate adaptation and mitigation projects

Michael Holder and Patrick Brusnahan
clock 20 May 2025 • 2 min read
Marisa Drew: 'A great deal of power lies in the consumer wallet'

Marisa Drew: 'A great deal of power lies in the consumer wallet'

Standard Chartered's chief sustainability officer reflects on her move into sustainability from investment banking, how 'big ideas' are coming from unexpected places, and the co-benefits of electric driving

Stuart Stone
clock 20 May 2025 • 9 min read
Sustainable Ventures' Andrew Wordsworth: 'Collaboration between diverse stakeholders is key'

Sustainable Ventures' Andrew Wordsworth: 'Collaboration between diverse stakeholders is key'

Sustainable Ventures co-founder reflects on building one of Europe's leading climate tech clusters, helping its companies collectively raise over £1.1bn and create 7,000 green jobs.

BusinessGreen staff
clock 15 May 2025 • 6 min read