Reacting to the publication of NatWest’s annual report today, Kelly Shields, Senior Campaign Manager, said:

“NatWest has long positioned itself as a climate leader, so stepping back from commitments to restrict financing for the largest fossil fuel firms expanding oil and gas extraction is a serious concern. It has also worryingly opened the door to support more fracking, despite the dangers this can cause for local communities and the environment.

From increasing heatwaves that put tens of thousands of lives at risk and strain our health system, to more frequent and severe flooding that damages homes, infrastructure and farmland, people are already experiencing the consequences of a warming world today.

Responsible investors expect clear, consistent plans for the clean energy transition that will mitigate these risks and moves like this undermine confidence in the bank’s long-term strategy.

We will call on shareholders to vote against the Chair of the board at the AGM to make one thing clear: climate ambition cannot be quietly watered down, especially when the stakes for people and the economy are so high.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

ShareAction wrote to the CEO of NatWest in December, calling out the bank’s decision to create a loophole in its oil & gas policy that allowed it to continue financing BP, despite its major backtracking on climate.

NatWest served as a Principal Partner and the exclusive banking sponsor for the UN COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November 2021.

The Banking Standards team at ShareAction partners with asset managers, asset owners, NGOs, retail investors and representatives of affected communities to demand Europe’s largest banks phase out financing to polluting activities and increase the flow of capital into low-carbon alternatives.