Research

There is growing recognition that central banks must act to confront the climate crisis. They have the tools to catalyze and accelerate the end of financing for fossil fuels – through monetary policy, regulatory action, and excluding fossil fuel assets from their own portfolios. But, with only limited exceptions, they are not using these tools. This report identifies 10 criteria for assessing central banks against the Paris Agreement’s objective, and applies them to assess 12 major central banks.

This briefing provides a technical analysis of how the International Energy Agency's (IEA) 2019 World Energy Outlook (WEO) continues to steer governments and investors off track in tackling the climate crisis.

A new report, Banking on Climate Change 2020, reveals that 35 private-sector banks across Canada, China, Europe, Japan, and the U.S. have financed fossil fuels with USD $2.7 trillion since the Paris Agreement was adopted (2016-2019), with financing on the rise each year. The report finds that fossil fuel financing continues to be dominated by the big U.S. banks – JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, and Bank of America – together, these four banks account for a staggering 30% of all fossil fuel financing from the 35 major global banks since the Paris Agreement was adopted.

This report from Oil Change International and Friends of the Earth U.S. shows that since the Paris Agreement was made, G20 countries have used their export credit agencies to provide nearly 12 times more finance to fossil fuels than to clean energy. 

To help inform the alignment of the MDBs with the Paris Agreement, this briefing explores the use of shadow carbon pricing by MDBs and considers some best practices and limitations in the application of shadow carbon prices.

This 10th annual "Banking on Climate Change" fossil fuel finance report card reveals that overall bank financing continues to be aligned with climate disaster, and that financing for fossil fuels has increased every year since the Paris Agreement was signed.

Investors often use the WEO to assess energy investments. Contrary to the IEA’s claims, its ‘Sustainable Development Scenario’ (SDS) is not aligned with the Paris goals.

The IEA scenarios — including the Sustainable Development Scenario (SDS) — fall short of the Paris Agreement goals and therefore don’t actually answer the question investors are asking, namely: are companies prepared for a world that takes the Paris Agreement seriously? The SDS is not providing an effective stress test, nor a useful guide to how things may change.

This new report details why California must chart a path off fossil fuel extraction to meet its commitment to the Paris Agreement climate goals.

A new report shows how multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, gave over $9 billion in funding for fossil fuel projects in 2016, nearly all of it following the Paris Agreement being reached and despite claims that they were acting on climate and adjusting their investment strategies.