One day before its online Annual General Meeting, a group of four environmental organisations has urged Banco Santander to strengthen its commitment to help fight the climate crisis, by committing to end its financing of the fossil fuel industry. The International Institute of Law and the Environment (IIDMA),  BankTrack, Polish Foundation “RT-ON” and Ecologistas en Acción call upon the bank to publicly commit to an immediate end of its financing of all new oil and gas projects as it has already done for coal,…

Marks the launch of a new campaign by Rainforest Action Network A new report released today by Rainforest Action Network (RAN) calls out ten multinational brands and seven major banks that represent some of the most influential companies fueling the destruction of rainforests and the violation of human rights. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said that reducing deforestation and the degradation of natural ecosystems is one of the most effective ways to mitigate climate change globally. Yet the report, titled Keep…

UK bank Barclays has bypassed an opportunity to put right its weak fossil fuel policy with the release of its new environmental report, risking a backlash from investors over its financing of carbon-intensive companies and projects, according to the Europe Beyond Coal coalition. Barclays is Europe’s largest financier of fossil fuel companies, and one of Europe’s top three financiers of European coal (1). The report (2) confirms the bank will continue to fund many fossil fuel companies engaged in coal, fracking and tar sands. It also…

More than 100 civil society organizations have written to the President of the African Development Bank, Mr. Akinwumi Adesina, warning the bank against financing the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, which they call “an exceptionally high-risk project.”  The proposed 1,445-kilometer pipeline from Hoima, Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania would be the longest heated pipeline in the world. Organizations from Africa as well as Europe, the United States and Asia expressed grave concern over a request from the governments…

A coalition of 32 environmental organisations worldwide has sent a letter to the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, asking it to divest from Drax Plc, owner of the world’s largest wood-burning power station in the UK, and to clarify its position on biomass energy. BlackRock is Drax’s joint third largest shareholder, holding a 5 percent stake in the company. While biomass energy is promoted by the industry and the UK government as a cleaner alternative to coal, in reality it contributes to climate change, forest destruction…

On the U.N. International Day of Forests, the Environmental Paper Network (EPN) has for the second time assessed the policies of major banks and funders of the pulp and paper industry worldwide against baseline environmental and social criteria developed by a global network of experts, known as the “Red Lines.” Despite having three years to improve their policies since the first publication of In the Red, the new analysis shows that, on average, financial institutions only scored “well protected” on 5 out of the 14…