Oh Well!! "Net-Zero" Banks' Commitments Since 2021 To FF Projects Will Produce CO2 Equal To 7 Years Of US Emissions

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That’s not all. Since May 2021, global banks that have committed to net-zero have poured almost $1 trillion into companies pursuing expansion of oil and gas projects that would push the world beyond its survivable limits. Taken together, these projects would produce almost seven times the annual emissions of the U.S., according to an analysis by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, or TBIJ. “It’s indefensible,” said John Lang, founder of the Net Zero Tracker that evaluates big companies’ net-zero plans. “There’s no way we can meet the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement if we continue financing the exploration of oil and gas.”

He said banks with net-zero commitments covering direct and indirect emissions could not fund oil and gas expansion. “It’s greenwashing, plain and simple.” It was at COP26 three years ago that a number of major banks first pledged that by 2050, they would cut almost all the emissions from their lending and investments to zero and invest in financial products to offset the remaining emissions — which has come to be known as “net-zero.” Citigroup, for instance, said it would do this in part by helping its clients transition away from fossil fuels and by stopping funding companies that do not.

Many of the banks trumpet their net-zero credentials in public. But Nigel Topping, a member of the U.K.’s Climate Change Committee, explained that even when banks commit to cutting emissions associated with their financing in line with net-zero, “it doesn’t stop them from financing companies that are continuing to expand [oil and gas production].” Citi’s chief executive, Jane Fraser, has said: “As the world’s most global bank, we can help drive the transition to a net-zero economy and make good on the promise of the Paris Agreement.” The bank says it has already beaten its 2030 target and cut CO2 emissions associated with energy clients by 38 percent between 2020 and 2022. But the funds it continues to raise for fossil fuel expanders threatens to lock in oil and gas production — and their emissions — well beyond 2030.

Take its support for BP, which announced record profits in February last year and promptly announced it would scale back its climate commitments and increase investments in oil and gas. It then enlisted the help of Citi and a host of other “net-zero” banks to raise $5.3 billion — and went on to invest $4.8 billion in its oil and gas operations in the first half of this year. BP also announced the first oil to be extracted from a new platform in Azerbaijan’s sector of the Caspian basin, which is expected to be operating until at least 2049, just a year before the world is supposed to have cut its dependence on fossil fuels. BP and Citigroup did not respond to a request for comment. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo declined to comment.

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https://grist.org/accountability/net-zero-banks-raised-1-trillion-for-fossil-fuel-giants/