Major banks under fire as report reveals harmful practices: 'Textbook case of greenwashing'

A recent report dove deep into the amount of banking money being invested in fossil fuels, according to Truthout. 

What's happening?

The 16th annual Banking on Climate Chaos report was released in June and co-authored by organizations including Rainforest Action Network, Indigenous Environmental Network, Sierra Club, BankTrack, and Reclaim Finance.

It found that the world's 65 biggest banks have invested a total of $7.9 trillion into fossil fuel businesses since 2016. This figure includes $869 billion in 2024 commitments — that's $162 billion more than the year before.

According to a press release announcing the report, the U.S. banks JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo together represented over 21 percent of global fossil fuel financing. 

While the volume of investment is staggering, the means of its movement may be even more surprising. 

The co-authors argue that banks have reduced their project-level financing to appear to be divesting from oil and gas, while continuing to make financial contributions at the corporate level, which may be less visible to consumers as well as potentially exempt from the same sustainability standards. 

This is a "textbook case of greenwashing," Jessye Waxman of Sierra Club told Truthout.   

Why is fossil fuel financing concerning?

As fossil fuel production continues, so too does its release of heat-trapping gases. This pollution is a primary driver of rising global temperatures and the extreme weather that results. 

Major storms, floods, and droughts are having significant impacts on human health and safety as well as food and housing costs in addition to numerous ecological effects. Big money is keeping dirty energy going and perpetuating these consequences when instead it could wholly shift to powering the clean energy transition.  

"These financial flows reflect the policy retreat of banks abandoning climate goals for short-term profits," Dianne Enriquez of Rainforest Action Network told Truthout. 

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What's being done about fossil fuel financing?

The report co-authors had a set of demands for banks. These included the exclusion of all financing for fossil fuel expansion, new emissions reduction targets for fossil fuel financing, requiring institutions to mandate reduction plans for their fossil fuel clients, additional protections for human rights and specifically Indigenous rights, and increases in renewables financing. 

"The time for climate justice is now," said Tom BK Goldtooth (Diné/Dakota) of Indigenous Environmental Network, per the release, "and that means ending fossil fuel investment at its source and holding banks and financial institutions accountable." 

It's important to note that it's often possible for individuals to take control of their own personal investments and put them toward sustainable companies. Still, environmental advocates want to see major corporate establishments make more massive shifts for widespread impacts. 

"It's time for these institutions to align their practices with the urgent need for climate action and the urgent need to put people before profit," report endorser Roishetta Ozane of the Vessel Project told Truthout.

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