An explainer.
Disclaimer: I am not pretending to be the high priestess of Gaia and hear her voice, think of it more of a game of “Simone Says”. [to quote one of my sisters, “who does this bloody Simon think he is?”]
I have come to the conclusion that no matter how alarming and accurate the climate science becomes the warnings will go unheeded, we need to highlight the flow of money and shame those financing the denial and continuation of the status quo.
A Comprehensive Climate Assessment of the World's Largest Financial Institutions, influencemap.org/… [A useful link, and you can register for free and download the full reports]
The research finds that despite an increase in long-term climate targets and voluntary climate-related reporting by these groups, financial institutions continue to show a significant lack of meaningful short-term action in the face of the climate crisis. This is evidenced by memberships in industry associations opposing policymakers' attempts to implement sustainable finance policies, continued and considerable financing to fossil fuel value chains, and a lack of short-term roadmaps and milestones to meet their long-term targets.
Despite 29 of the 30 assessed financial groups having set 2050 climate goals in line with the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) initiative, all 30 FIs remain members of financial industry associations which are opposing emerging sustainable finance policy, including finance sector disclosure requirements in the EU and requirements to consider ESG as part of investment duties in the US.
The 30 assessed FIs cumulatively enabled at least $740 billion in primary financing to the fossil fuel production value chain in 2020 and 2021, equivalent to 7% of their total primary financing in this period. This financing stands in direct contrast to science-based guidelines from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA), making clear the need for the rapid scale-down of coal, oil and gas exploration and production and halve global emissions by 2030. The largest enabler of fossil fuel financing was J.P. Morgan with $81 billion in 2020-2021.
I suggest reading the full report [There are many useful links to sources and organizations.]
During the current crises the only people laughing all the way to the bank are the fossil fuel industries and authoritarian governments.
Starve the beast.
To those fortunate enough to control their own investments or pension funds, there are alternatives but be aware that some ESG’s [environmental, social or governance] and fund managers are better than others, this sector lacks standardization hence open to greenwashing.
We cannot do it on our own and my lack of trust in governments to do the right thing, however together, we have a small chance of influencing the outcome.
There are plenty of investment opportunities for example: Fossil energy free steel
Baylan further noted: “Industry and especially the steel industry create large emissions but are also an important part of the solution.”
The steel was created by a joint venture between Swedish steelmaker SSAB, energy company Vattenfall, and iron ore miner LKAB. A technology dubbed HYBRIT—a contraction of Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology—replaces fossil fuels both in the production of the iron pellets that are the key ingredient of steel, and in the removal of oxygen from the iron by replacing carbon and coke with green hydrogen. SSAB then uses that iron to produce steel slabs for delivery.