Press Room

In the seven years since the Paris Agreement was adopted, the world’s 60 largest private banks financed fossil fuels with USD $5.5 trillion. The report lays bare the shocking fact that even as fossil fuel companies made $4 trillion in profits in 2022, banks still provided $673 billion in financing. Remarkably, this happened while oil majors like Exxon Mobil and Shell PLC asked for $0 financing from banks in 2022.

Today, ahead of the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministerial meeting this weekend in Japan, the International Energy Agency (IEA)released analyses to inform the G7 energy agenda, including on the outlook for fossil gas. 

Over 100 groups sent a letter to Biden Administration officials ahead of this week’s G7 meeting of climate change and environmental ministers urging the United States to resist the Japanese push for increased public investments in LNG.

As G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers prepare to meet in Japan, two new briefings launched today show the extent to which G7 countries are succeeding and failing in holding up their climate and energy security commitments. 

"The World Bank cannot be effective on climate action until it stops adding fuel to the fire. We'll be looking to shareholders and Bank leadership to make serious commitments to stop all forms of support for fossil fuels,” said O'Manique.

Government-backed LNG projects are exposing the public to stranded asset risks and causing emissions nearly twice the annual emissions of Canada.

The OECD has adopted a new list of “climate-friendly” projects that will benefit from preferential financial terms for export support. But a number of projects are poorly defined, potentially allowing for preferential financial incentives for export credit agency investments in gas.

The Netherlands just contradicted its COP26 pledge to end public finance for fossil fuels by the end of 2022 and shift this money to clean energy by issuing a commitment to insure the Brazil Santos Basin Pre-Salt Pole oil and gas production project for around USD 321 million.

Italy’s far right government has broken a major climate pledge to end public financing for international fossil fuel projects, instead producing the worst policy among countries that signed the 2021 commitment.

"The UN Secretary-General's response to the IPCC report makes it clear that the time when countries can pretend to be climate leaders while expanding oil and gas production is over," said Romain Ioualalen.