UK groups slam RBS for fossil fuel financing on the eve of its CSR report launch

On Friday July 4, the Royal Bank of Scotland will launch its 2007 Corporate Responsibility (CSR) Report. A coalition of environmental NGOs, including Friends of the Earth Scotland and People & Planet [1], are casting doubt on the bank’s green credentials in light of its ongoing role in financing fossil fuel expansion around the world. In 2007 RBS supported the fossil fuel industry with over $6 billion, while the bank’s embedded missions passed 50 million tonnes of CO2 – more than Scotland [2].

The groups expect that the report will focus on the bank’s lending of $2-4 billion to renewables projects in order to bolster its environmental credibility, while largely ignoring the impacts of the greater continued support of over $6 billion for - often heavily... read more