Big banks' big footprint: UK financial institutions responsible for double UK's annual carbon emissions, report warns

clock • 4 min read

Green campaigners warn City of London would be ninth biggest emitter of CO2 in world if it was a country in fresh analysis of financial sector's environmental impact

UK banks and investors are responsible for almost double the UK's net annual carbon emissions, a damning new report by WWF and Greenpeace has found. The analysis argues that based on the carbon footprint...

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

Ecology Group acquires Urban Edge Environmental Consulting

Ecology Group acquires Urban Edge Environmental Consulting

Deal marks the environmental consultancy's tenth acquisition since it was founded in spring 2025

BusinessGreen staff
clock 13 August 2026 • 2 min read
Metal Morph raises £700K backing to recover aluminium and chemicals from wastewater

Metal Morph raises £700K backing to recover aluminium and chemicals from wastewater

London-based firm announces results of pre-seed funding round co-led by Sustainable Ventures and Green Angel Ventures, with participation from Aqcelerator and Found Capital

Stuart Stone
clock 13 August 2026 • 3 min read
Santander UK finances two battery energy storage systems

Santander UK finances two battery energy storage systems

Bank backs Brockwell Energy's first BESS project in East Ayrshire and provides £42.7m to battery tipped to be among the largest in the UK

clock 07 August 2026 • 3 min read