The world’s largest banks boosted the amount of financing given to fossil fuel companies last year, committing $869bn to those involved in coal, oil and gas despite the worsening climate crisis and the banks’ own, fraying, environmental commitments, a new report has found.
The report, compiled by a coalition of eight green groups, shows that while the amount loaned by big banks to fossil fuel firms had been declining in 2021, last year saw an abrupt reversal. Two-thirds of the world’s largest 65 banks increased their fossil fuel financing by $162bn from 2023 to 2024.
