Rosie Venner, JustMoney’s Director of Movement Building explores the role that banks can play in tackling the climate crisis and protecting nature.
World leaders gathered in Colombia last month for COP16 – the United Nations biodiversity summit – to discuss plans to protect nature. Next on the global agenda is the United Nations climate summit, COP29, which begins this week in Baku, Azerbaijan (11-22 November).
We are at a critical moment for the whole earth. There are huge challenges ahead. Almost 1 million plant and animal species are currently threatened with extinction. Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health.
We can’t ignore the role of money in what happens to the planet. Public and private finance must be aligned to the change we want to see.
Climate-impacted countries need funds for adaptation, and for loss and damage caused by ever increasing floods, fires and droughts. All eyes will be on the COP29 talks as a new annual climate financing target is discussed, which must secure more public finance from richer nations who have historically emitted the majority of the greenhouse gases driving the climate crisis.
Banks have a role to play too, through their loans and investments. Put simply, we need a reduction in money going to harmful activities and sectors, and a rapid increase in green finance, if we are to reduce our global CO2 emissions and ensure a liveable world for future generations.
Where is finance currently flowing?
A shocking US$5 trillion of private finance is invested in nature-harming activities worldwide every year. This increases to nearly $7 trillion if public sector finance is included too. In comparison, only US$200 billion is spent on conserving or restoring biodiversity.
In the last year and a half alone, from January 2023 to June 2024, banks provided US$77 billion to companies that put forests at risk. Banks like HSBC and Barclays are still financing the expansion of plastics production, including the production of single-use plastics.
Reclaim Finance recently found1 that European banks are still pumping billions of dollars into companies involved in the exploration and production of fossil fuels. Furthermore, “The biggest supporters of oil and gas expansion in the past three years are the British banks Barclays and HSBC”.
At the same time, finance is not shifting quickly enough to climate solutions. The International Energy Agency says that $10 of green investment is needed for every $1 in fossil fuels by 2030, but a new report from ShareAction2 reveals that 18 out of 20 banks, including HSBC, Barclays and BNP Paribas, are not on track to meet this target.
Money is flowing into industries that are fuelling the climate crisis, damaging habitats, polluting the air we breathe and degrading the soil that supports life on earth.
During and beyond COP29, one way we can all push for change is through our banks.
We need our banks to recognise their role in protecting nature and achieving the global climate goals that will keep us all safe.
3 ways to take action
- Explore your own banking choices and move your current account to a greener bank with the Big Bank Switch.
- Switch your church’s bank account to a more ethical bank using our recently revised Greener Fairer Banking guide.
- Ask your church or organisation to sign the ecumenical Statement of Concern addressed to the 5 major banks (Barclays, HSBC, Santander, NatWest and Lloyds) calling on them to stop financing fossil fuels.
If you want to go deeper with action towards a more just use of money, do join our JustMoney Champions network so that together we can build a bigger, more diverse movement for change.
Prayer points
- Pray for the conversations happening at COP29, for the voices of affected communities to be heard, and for wise and just decisions from world leaders.
- Pray for swift action from businesses and financial institutions that prioritises the protection of nature, reduction of CO2 emissions, and the transition to a more sustainable economy.
- Pray for courage for all who are advocating for change from within the banking sector, and for growth in the number of banks committed to climate action.