The report looks at the world’s 60 largest private sector banks, finding that they financed fossil fuels with USD 5.5 trillion since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, including USD 673 billion in 2022 alone. Fossil fuel financing plateaued in 2020, rebounded in 2021, and leveled out again in 2022 owing to unusual geopolitical and economic conditions (critically, not due to shifts in bank policy).
At BankingOnClimateChaos.org you can download the report, interact with the data, explore the case studies, and take action. Keep an eye out for future multimedia frontline stories, which will be rolled out in the coming weeks!
For the first time since 2019, a Canadian bank is the #1 annual financier of fossil fuels rather than U.S. bank JP Morgan Chase. Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) showered fossil fuel projects with USD 42.1 billion dollars in 2022.
JPMorgan Chase remained worst in the U.S., while Barclays was worst in the UK, BNP Paribas was worst in the EU, MUFG was worst in Japan, and ICBC was worst in China. The report lays bare the shocking fact that even as fossil fuel companies made USD 4 trillion in profits in 2022, banks still provided USD 673 billion in financing for fossil fuels.
While Europeans and Ukrainians called for a transition to renewables to stop funding Russian atrocities, fossil fuel companies doubled down on expansion and weakened their climate commitments. The top 30 companies expanding LNG used the crisis to secure nearly 50% more financing in 2022 compared to 2021 — even as experts agree that new LNG projects would contribute to a supply glut and long-term dependence on this fossil fuel.