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
Our annual reports
Funding and finances
History
BankTrack in the media
Our privacy policy
Donate
2022-06-02 00:00:00
GFANZ must tighten the screw on fossil fuel expansion
2022-05-19 00:00:00
BNP Paribas and Société Générale: stop financing climate destruction and human rights abuses
2022-05-04 00:00:00
Barclays is big on beef and burning
2022-05-04 00:00:00
Standard Chartered’s 2022 AGM dominated by shareholder alarm over fossil financing
2022-05-20 15:14:47
Seven financiers abandon TotalEnergies' EACOP pipeline in a week
2021-12-16 13:33:02
Cambo oil field "paused" following pressure on Shell & banks
2021-12-16 13:04:42
Equator Principles improve transparency after BankTrack shows the way
2021-11-02 11:03:26
ANZ launches human rights grievance mechanism in a first for the global banking sector
Connect
2022-04-05 00:00:00
The BankTrack Human Rights Benchmark Asia
2022-03-30 00:00:00
Banking on Climate Chaos 2022
2022-03-08 00:00:00
BankTrack Annual Report 2021
2022-03-03 00:00:00
Locked out of a Just Transition: fossil fuel financing in Africa
2021-12-14 00:00:00
Actions speak louder: Assessing bank responses to human rights violations
2021-10-26 00:00:00
Equator Compliant Climate Destruction: How banks finance fossil fuels under the Equator Principles
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
Santander’s deep support for fossil fuel industry challenged at bank’s AGM
Start
Banks
Dodgy Deals

By: BankTrack & Foundation “Development YES - Open-Pit Mines NO”
2019-04-12
Santander, Spain

Contact:

Kuba Gogolewski, Foundation "Development YES - Open-Pit Mines NO"

climate@banktrack.org


Share this page:

The Ecologistas en Acción sailing boat delivers a message to the Santander AGM (April 2019). Photo: Samuel Martín-Sosa
Go to:
Start
Related Banks
Related Dodgy Deals

Today at Banco Santander’s annual shareholders’ meeting environmental campaigners from across Europe challenged the bank’s board of directors to take action to cut the institution’s multi-billion dollar support for the fossil fuel industry.

Outside the AGM, in Santander, Spain, campaigners from Ecologistas en Acción hung large banners from a sailing boat with the combined messages aimed at Spain’s biggest bank of ‘Fossil Banks, No Thanks!’ and ‘By 2020 We Rise Up’.

Inside the AGM, Polish NGO Foundation "Development YES - Open-Pit Mines NO" raised the issue of Santander’s ongoing support for the coal expansion activities of one of Europe’s top polluters, Poland’s state-owned PGE. 

In September 2018, Santander participated in a four bank consortium which provided PGE with EUR 950 million in general company financing which campaigners maintain is being ploughed into the state-owned utility’s coal power plant expansion programme. 

Kuba Gogolewski, of Foundation "Development YES - Open-Pit Mines NO" and present at today’s AGM, said:

“Santander can show real, positive climate leadership by turning off its financing tap for PGE, one of Europe’s worst polluters. As PGE continues to plan new lignite mines and coal plants, it’s crunch time for the financially vulnerable company. When it comes knocking on Santander’s door in the coming few weeks for another financial lifeline, we expect the bank to put public health and the climate ahead of profits and say no to PGE’s alarming coal expansion plans.”

Santander’s $15 billion financial support for the fossil fuel industry over the last three years was revealed in a recent report.

Samuel Martin-Sosa, of Ecologistas en Acción, said:

“There is an emerging social mobilisation all over the world demanding immediate and effective climate action from governments and corporations. If fossil banks like Santander do not understand this message clearly they will face increasing social discontent. There are many people committing to rise up for climate justice by 2020 if things do not change now.”

Greig Aitken, of BankTrack which is coordinating the global Fossil Banks, No Thanks! campaign with the support of over 200 organisations around the world, said:

“Throwing $15 billion at the fossil fuel industry in the three years since the Paris agreement was signed is not a very hot look for Santander, but the bank’s finance is clearly contributing to ever hotter temperatures. Today’s action is the fifth Fossil Banks, No Thanks! protest outside a bank AGM in a week, following other protests at the AGMs of TD Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Unicredit and also HSBC today, with many further AGM actions to follow in the weeks to come.  

“Instead of undermining global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions to keep the rise in average temperature no higher than 1.5 degrees, Santander and other big banks have to cut out the excuse-making and instead start cutting fossil fuel companies from their portfolios, starting right now.”

Go to:
Start
Related Banks
Related Dodgy Deals

Related banks

Banco Santander Spain

active
Go to:
Start
Related Banks
Related Dodgy Deals

Related Dodgy Deals

Companies

There are no companies active for this item now.
on record

Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) Poland

Biomass Electric Power Generation | Coal Electric Power Generation | Coal Mining | Nuclear Electric Power Generation
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