US banks abandon ‘bare minimum’ environmental standards project, alarming climate groups

Critics say the banks are bending to pressure from climate-denying extremists. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Four of the world’s biggest banks have left the Equator Principles, a set of minimum industry standards and safeguards for financial institutions to address environmental and social risks in countries where they finance fossil fuel and mining projects.

The Equator Principles have been around for more than two decades, and while not enforceable, they provide a basic framework of environmental standards that banks agreed would underpin financing deals on pollution-causing extractive projects.