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
2023-01-23 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
2022-12-08 00:00:00
Right-wing attack on sustainable finance is the latest form of climate denial
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
New report reveals the 40 financial institutions funding the world's climate-changing methane problem
A new report by Planet Tracker and Changing Markets reveals the top financial institutions funding the world’s biggest methane producers, and the role they can play in turning the tide on global heating.
Start
Banks
Dodgy Deals

By: Changing Markets & Planet Tracker
2023-01-17
London

Contact:

Annabel Rivero, Planet Tracker; +44 7763113826


Share this page:

Photo: Planet Tracker
Go to:
Start
Related Banks
Related Dodgy Deals

A new report from financial think tank Planet Tracker and the Changing Markets Foundation has uncovered the 40 financial institutions responsible for funding a methane footprint that could exceed 500 Mt CO2e – nearly as big as the CO2 emissions of Saudi Arabia.(1)

Hot Money names the 20 investors and 20 banks currently financing the methane-generating activities of fifteen leading global meat and dairy companies, identified in terms of equity ownership, bond ownership and bank funding. All were found to have weak or non-existent policies for reducing methane emissions, with a particular gap regarding livestock agriculture – the single largest source of agri-methane. This conflicts with the Global Methane Pledge signed by all but one of the institutions’ home countries.

The aggregate agri-methane footprint attributable to the top 20 equity investors is 68 Mt CO2e – more than the CO2 emissions of Austria. Vanguard takes first place, with Blackrock second and State Street third. For banks, the footprint is roughly three times as large (c. 200 Mt CO2e) – almost equivalent to the CO2 emissions of countries like Spain. Because of its focus on meat, Morgan Stanley takes the top slot (40 Mt CO2e), followed by JP Morgan (31 Mt CO2e) and HSBC (19 Mt CO2e). The estimated methane footprint of the banks could easily be higher – a harsher estimation method would suggest a footprint for the banks of over 430 Mt CO2e – equivalent to Brazil’s annual CO2 emissions.

Peter Elwin, Director of Fixed Income and Head of Food and Land Use Programme at Planet Tracker, comments: “Methane is a powerful climate pollutant, 80 times worse than CO2 over a 20-year period.

“This report highlights the significant role that financial institutions have to play in limiting agricultural methane emissions. Food production generates more methane than the energy system so if asset managers want to achieve net zero in their portfolios, they need to address the issue of agri-methane.

“The good news is that it is comparatively short-lived – methane breaks down in the atmosphere, reducing to half its level in around 11 years. Cutting methane emissions gives financial institutions the greatest bang for their buck enabling them to rapidly reduce the GhG footprints they fund. More importantly, tackling methane emissions now will have an amplified positive impact in slowing global heating before 2050”.

Nusa Urbancic, Campaigns Director at Changing Markets Foundation, said: ”The emissions in the meat and dairy sector are highly concentrated, with just a handful of meat and dairy companies responsible for 1 in every 10 tonnes of methane produced by livestock. It is disappointing that at a time when we desperately need strong climate leadership, the finance sector is missing in action when it comes to addressing this potent gas. They must join the methane momentum sparked by the Global Methane Pledge and demand urgent corporate action to cut methane, starting at this year’s upcoming AGM season”.

Methane is a powerful climate pollutant that, over a twenty-year period, has a global warming potential 80 times worse than CO2. Scientists say that cutting methane is one of the most effective ways to stay on 1.50 pathway and have called for 40-45% reduction in methane emissions by 2030. At COP26 in Glasgow, the Global Methane Pledge was launched, where governments have committed to at least 30% reductions by 2030.  The Pledge currently has over 150 signatories.

Planet Tracker and Changing Markets call on financial institutions to:

  • Require the companies they fund to have clear policies and procedures to cut methane emissions, particularly those arising from agriculture (including Scope 3). Banks should include this requirement within their lending agreements.
  • Demand that energy, meat and dairy companies publish quantified, independently verified, full methane emission disclosure (Scope 1, 2 and 3) by product line and geography, on a timely basis.
  • Require the food production companies they fund to publish production data, by product line and geography, in their annual reports.
  • Set an investment policy linked to quantitative, time-framed and science-based methane reduction targets. These need to extend to agriculture, in particular livestock, and should be integrated into their net zero strategy.
  • Report annually on their progress with respect to limiting methane emissions, including those from agriculture.

Governments must also play their part by actioning the promises set out under the Global Methane Pledge, prioritising specific policies aimed at the reduction of emissions from livestock.

The 40 financial institutions revealed in this report are spread across the United States (15), Switzerland (6), France (5), Canada (4), UK (3), Germany (2), Netherlands (1), Spain (1), Japan (1), Italy (1) and China (1). China is the only host country that has not signed the Methane Pledge.


 

Notes to editors

(1) CO2 was compared rather than methane because methane calculations vary so CO2 provides a simpler benchmark. All country CO2 emissions data comes from the World Bank.

Go to:
Start
Related Banks
Related Dodgy Deals

Related banks

Banco Santander Spain

active

Bank of America United States

active

Bank of Montreal (BMO) Canada

active

Barclays United Kingdom

active

BNP Paribas France

active

Citi United States

active

Crédit Agricole France

active

Credit Suisse Switzerland

active

Deutsche Bank Germany

active

HSBC United Kingdom

active

ING Netherlands

active

JPMorgan Chase United States

active

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) Japan

active

Morgan Stanley United States

active

Natixis France

active

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Canada

active

Société Générale France

active

UBS Switzerland

active

UniCredit Italy

active
Go to:
Start
Related Banks
Related Dodgy Deals

Related Dodgy Deals

Companies

target

JBS Brazil

Beef Industry | Commodities Trading
active

Marfrig Brazil

Beef Industry | Commodities Trading
There are no companies 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