(Updated with comments from BNP Paribas)
LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters) – European banks are continuing to provide billions of dollars in financing to boost oil and gas production, a report showed on Monday, despite the International Energy Agency’s recommendation (IEA) to stop building new facilities in order to slow global warming.
In the course of 2021, twenty-five of the region’s leading banks have provided a total of $55 billion (€48.7 billion) to energy companies planning to increase production oil and gas, responsible investment association ShareAction said in its report.
While this figure is down from the $106 billion lent in 2020 and $83 billion in 2019, it is higher than the $49 billion and $50 billion lent in 2018 and 2017 respectively.
The funding comes despite pledges by the relevant European banks to decarbonize their loan portfolios, the report said, adding that HSBC, Barclays and BNP Paribas are among the biggest providers in 2021.
In May, the IEA called for a halt to investment in new oil and gas fields in order to meet the target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius as defined in the Paris Agreement on climate signed in 2015.
ShareAction said it is calling on investors to demand banks implement policies to limit funding for oil and gas expansion and support climate-related shareholder resolutions in the upcoming trading season. annual general meetings.
“Last year, shareholders were instrumental in getting banks to adopt or tighten restrictions on coal financing,” said Kelly Shields, head of banking standards at ShareAction.
“This year, they must do the same with the expansion of oil and gas production,” she added.
An HSBC spokesperson said the bank was working with customers on the energy transition and would publish science-based targets on February 22 to ensure its funding for oil and gas expansion is in line with targets and timelines. of the Paris agreement.
A Barclays spokesperson said the company was aiming to align its funding with the Paris Agreement targets, and was targeting an absolute 15% reduction in emissions funded by its customers in the sector. energy by 2025.
A BNP Paribas spokesperson said the bank supports European energy companies that are broadly committed to developing renewable energy assets, which are set to play a leading role in the energy transition.
Reducing supply as demand increases is likely to have negative social consequences, he added, adding that it was important to distinguish between oil expansion and gas expansion, which plays a useful role as a transition fuel for countries moving away from more polluting coal. (Report Simon Jessop and Tommy Wilkes; French version Federica Mileo, edited by Blandine Hénault)