by Tommy Wilkes
LONDON (Reuters) – Responsible investment association ShareAction said on Friday that some 30 investors it coordinates have sent letters to five of Europe’s biggest banks asking them to stop funding new oil and gas fields by the end of the year, so as not to compromise the energy transition.
The signatory investors, including the asset management company La Française or Aegon Asset Management, represent a total of assets worth more than 1.500 billion dollars, said ShareAction.
Letters have been sent to the executives of BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale, Barclays and Deutsche Bank.
According to ShareAction, the five banks contacted and the British group HSBC are the main European financiers of the main oil and gas companies which have developed between 2016 and 2021.
However, HSBC said in December it would stop funding new oil and gas fields directly, ShareAction noted.
“Investors are warning these banks that they will face increasing pressure if they don’t act quickly to reverse their financing of new oil and gas fields,” said Jeanne Martin of ShareAction.
A Barclays spokesperson said the bank believed it could make the biggest difference by working with its customers in their transition to a low-carbon economy.
“This includes many oil and gas companies that are actively engaged and critical to the transition,” the spokesperson added.
For its part, BNP Paribas recalled in an email having announced new objectives last month, including the cessation of funding for new explorations and the reduction of gas exposure.
Crédit Agricole said it had already ended financing new oil extraction projects and pointed to a plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Societe Generale declined to comment, but a spokesperson said the bank would assess the letter once its executives received a copy. He outlined the French bank’s goals to reduce its exposure to oil and gas production by 2025.
German bank Deutsche Bank said it had “significantly reduced” its engagement in carbon-intensive sectors since 2016.
“We are focused on supporting our customers in their transformation to carbon neutrality,” the bank said in an emailed statement.
Although banks have tightened their lending criteria under the Glasgow Alliance for Carbon Neutrality, environmental groups say they are doing too little, too late.
The International Energy Agency estimated in 2021 that investment in new oil, gas and coal supply projects needed to be halted to achieve net zero emissions by mid-century.
(Tommy Reggiori Wilkes report, French version Kate Entringer, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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