Banks| Policies| Dodgy Deals| Campaigns
About us| Blog| Publications| Successes| Contact us| Donate
About BankTrack
Visit us
Organisation
Our team
Our board
Guiding principles
Team up with us
Jobs at BankTrack
Our annual reports
Funding and finances
History
BankTrack in the media
Our privacy policy
Donate
2023-02-07 00:00:00
What COP15 means for banks: meeting the Global Biodiversity Framework requires protecting Indigenous rights and divesting from harmful industries
2023-01-23 00:00:00
Berta Cáceres: new rules for banks could help stop defender killings
2023-01-16 00:00:00
In the balance: Why European due diligence legislation must cover financial services
2022-12-08 00:00:00
Exposed: Western banks funding Qatar’s carbon bombs
2022-12-14 11:08:26
HSBC announces it will no longer finance new oil and gas fields
2022-10-13 15:56:39
More major banks and insurers refuse to support EACOP
2022-09-16 10:38:48
European Parliament passes emergency resolution against human rights violations & environmental threats linked to EACOP
2022-06-27 09:49:16
Crédit Agricole takes first step to phase out from the oil and gas sector
Connect
2022-11-22 00:00:00
Banking on Thin Ice: Two years in the heat
2022-11-17 00:00:00
BankTrack Global Human Rights Benchmark 2022
2022-10-21 00:00:00
Burning forests in the name of clean energy? How banks are failing to exclude the harmful wood biomass industry from finance
2022-06-28 00:00:00
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP): Finance Risk Update No. 3
2022-04-05 00:00:00
The BankTrack Human Rights Benchmark Asia
2022-03-30 00:00:00
Banking on Climate Chaos 2022
See all publications
Browse
Home
Banks
Policies
Dodgy Deals
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook
Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Instagram
Affiliate Websites
Fossil Banks No Thanks
StopEACOP
Forests & Finance
Banks & Biodiversity
Drop JBS
Bank of Coal
Don't Buy into Occupation
Home › News
Coal finance exit in France – Banks and insurers urged to drop coal expansion clients and make good on commitments
Start
Banks
Dodgy Deals

By: BankTrack & Unfriend Coal
2019-11-14
Paris, France

Contact:

Lucie Pinson, Unfriend Coal campaign coordinator and advisor to Friends of the Earth France

lucie@sunriseproject.org.au


Share this page:

German coal mining and power plant. Photo: Volker Hartmann
Go to:
Start
Related Banks
Related Dodgy Deals

Ahead of Climate Finance Day in Paris and the UN Climate Summit in Madrid, BankTrack and the Unfriend Coal campaign, in partnership with Friends of the Earth France, are calling on French financial institutions to seize the opportunity by immediately freezing business relationships with more than 400 companies which are engaged in developing new coal projects worldwide.

In a briefing published today which analyses French financial institutions’ coal financing and policies, the groups reveal that BNP Paribas is the largest French financier of companies developing new coal-fired power plants. New data shows that the bank has provided at least EUR 2.2 billion in financing to these coal expansion companies in 2019 alone.

In Indonesia, where pollution from coal is causing the untimely deaths of thousands of people every year, this year BNP Paribas has facilitated EUR 211 million for the state-owned utility PLN Persero via a bond issue. The company currently produces 62% of its electricity from coal and is planning to build 10 gigawatts of new coal-fired electricity generation capacity.

Also featured in the new briefing is top French insurer AXA which no longer directly insures new coal projects but does still issue insurance cover, including for damage, to expansionists in the coal sector.

According to sources in the insurance sector, AXA is one of the companies providing insurance to Adani Mining, the Australian subsidiary of the Indian conglomerate Adani which is planning the massive Carmichael coal mine in Australia. The hugely controversial Carmichael project, which is being vigorously challenged by Indigenous people, communities and groups across Australia and from which more than 60 global financial firms have distanced themselves, is recognised as potentially one of the world’s biggest individual sources of CO2 emissions and also threatens the fragile ecosystem of the Great Barrier Reef.

Indications of positive momentum on coal across the French financial sector emerged in July this year when, following pressure from the French Ministry of Economy and Finance and NGOs, business federations announced that by mid-2020 their members, banks, insurers and investors, must define “a global exit schedule for the financing of coal activities”.

The new briefing presents details on the various remaining gaps between the policies of French financial institutions still highly active in the coal sector and what is necessary if they are to respect the July pledge to publish exit plans for the sector by mid-2020. NGOs are calling for French institutions to now lay out plans that will ensure their exit from coal by 2030 in EU and OECD countries and by 2040 elsewhere.

8782
table_en.jpg
center
The state of play with French financial institutions' coal policies.
Photo: Jeandon Jordan

Lucie Pinson, coordinator of the Unfriend Coal campaign and advisor to Friends of the Earth France’s private finance campaign, commented:

“If it results in concrete climate action, the July commitment will send a strong French signal internationally and could cause a powerful ripple effect. But the risks of greenwashing are enormous. The commitment is non-binding, so there is a clear risk that many French institutions will be reluctant to implement or adopt the necessary measures to get out of coal in time to limit warming to 1.5°C.

“This is particularly true for BNP Paribas and AXA, which are both still pursuing a fundamentally different course by continuing to finance or insure companies which are developing new coal projects.”

Yann Louvel, Climate campaigner at BankTrack, said:

“Complying with the July commitment would require French financial institutions to, as a minimum, refuse to finance or insure the 417 companies engaged in the development of new mines, power plants and coal infrastructure. They should also be taking the necessary steps to set conditions on all financial services for such companies based on their adoption of a closure plan for their existing coal assets, by no later than 2030 in EU and OECD countries, and by 2040 elsewhere.

“Crédit Agricole is on track, although its latest promising commitments announced in June this year still have to be implemented. On the other hand, BNP Paribas has not revised its policy concerning its corporate coal clients in almost four years. Despite having improved their respective coal policies, Société Générale and Natixis are now also under pressure to sharpen their approaches as they have yet to spell out how they will exit from coal within the timeframe set by climate science.”

Notes for editors: 

1. The financial data is provided by research from the Dutch consultancy agency Profundo. All international financing and investments for companies developing new coal plant projects will be published in December 2019.

Go to:
Start
Related Banks
Related Dodgy Deals

Related banks

BNP Paribas France

active

Crédit Agricole France

active

Natixis France

active

Société Générale France

active
Go to:
Start
Related Banks
Related Dodgy Deals

Related Dodgy Deals

Projects

active

Carmichael coal mine project Australia

Coal Mining
There are no projects active for this item now.
Browse
Home
Banks
Policies
Dodgy Deals
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook
Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Instagram
Affiliate Websites
Fossil Banks No Thanks
StopEACOP
Forests & Finance
Banks & Biodiversity
Drop JBS
Bank of Coal
Don't Buy into Occupation
Vismarkt 15
6511 VJ Nijmegen
The Netherlands

Tel: +31 24 324 9220
Contact@banktrack.org
©2016 BankTrack                Webdesign by BankTrack and EASYmind
BankTrack is a registered charity in the Netherlands (ANBI) - RSIN 813874658
Find our privacy policy here

Stay up to date

Sign up now for all BankTrack's news


Make a comment

Your comment will be reviewed, before being posted