Finance is leaving oil and gas
To date, over 100 and counting globally significant financial institutions* have announced their divestment from coal.
Now they’re leaving other fossil fuels including oil, LNG, fossil gas, oil sands and arctic drilling.
Many have also committed to reducing their fossil fuel exposure to align with the Paris Agreement’s emissions reduction target of 1.5 – 2.0° celsius.
The questions is, who’s next?
Global Financial Institution | Type | Country and/or Headquarters | Finance Restrictions | Commitment to reduce total fossil fuel exposure and/or align with 1.5-2.0°C | Restrictions Introduced | Latest Restrictions |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABN AMRO | Bank | Netherlands | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2018-11 | |
Achmea Group | Insurer / Reinsurer | Netherlands | Oil sands | 2020-06 | 2021-01 | |
Aegon N.V. | Insurer / Reinsurer | Netherlands | Oil sands | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-01 | |
African Development Bank Group (Banque Africaine de Développement) (AfDB) | Multilateral Development Bank | Côte d’Ivoire | Arctic drilling | Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019-09 | |
Agence française de développement (AFD) | Multinational Development Bank | France | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019 | |
ASR NL | Insurer / Reinsurer | Netherlands | Oil sands | 2020-06 | ||
ATP | Asset Manager / Owner | Denmark | Oil sands | 2020-02 | ||
Axa | Insurer / Reinsurer | France | Oil sands | Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2017-12 | |
AXIS Capital | Insurer / Reinsurer | Bermuda | Oil sands | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure | 2020-01 | 2021-01 |
Banco Santander, S.A. | Bank | Spain | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2018-11 | |
Bank of America | Bank | US | Arctic drilling | 2020-12 | ||
Bank of Montreal (BMO) | Bank | Canada | Arctic drilling | 2020-10 | ||
Banque de France (BdF) | Central Bank | France | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019 | 2021-01 |
Barclays | Bank | UK | Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-04 | |
Bayerische Landesbank (BayernLB) | Bank | Germany | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure | 2019-12 | |
Belfius Bank | Insurer / Bank | Belgium | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019-12 | |
BNP Paribas | Bank | France | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2017-10 | |
Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) | Asset Manager | France | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2021-01 | |
CDC Group | Development Finance Institution | UK | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-07 | |
Citigroup | Bank | US | Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure | 2020-04 | |
Crédit Agricole Group | Bank | France | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2017-12 | |
Crédit Mutuel Asset Management | Asset Manager | France | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-02 | |
Credit Suisse Group | Bank | Switzerland | Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-07 | |
Deutsche Bank | Bank | Germany | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure | 2020-07 | |
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) | Multilateral Development Bank | London | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2018-12 | |
European Investment Bank (EIB) | Multilateral Development Bank | Luxembourg | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019-11 | |
FMO (Dutch Development Bank) | Development Finance Institution | Netherlands | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-11 | |
Folksam Group | Insurer / Reinsurer | Sweden | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reduced exposure to energy sector within its international equity portfolio by around 50%. | 2019-05 | 2021-01 |
Generali Group | Insurer / Reinsurer | Italy | Oil sands | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-03 | |
Goldman Sachs | Bank / Asset Manager | US | Arctic drilling | 2019 | ||
Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) | Asset Manager / Owner | Norway | General exclusion of all oil and gas exploration firms globally. | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-09 | |
Groupe des Assurances Mutuelles Agricoles (Groupama) | Insurer / Reinsurer | France | Oil sands | 2019-12 | ||
Hannover Re / Talanx Group | Insurer / Reinsurer | Germany | Oil sands | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure | 2019-11 | |
HSBC Holdings | Bank | UK | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-02 | |
ING Group | Bank | Netherlands | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019-06 | |
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) | Bank | US | Oil sands Arctic drilling | 2020-09 | ||
JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Bank | US | Arctic drilling | 2020-02 | ||
KBC Group | Bank | Belgium | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-11 | |
KfW | Development Finance Institution | Germany | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-11 | |
KLP | Pension Fund | Norway | Oil sands | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019-10 | |
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) | Bank | Germany | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019-03 | |
Lloyds Banking Group | Bank | UK | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-01 | |
MetLife | Insurer / Reinsurer | US | Oil sands | 2020-07 | ||
Morgan Stanley | Bank | US | Arctic drilling | 2020-05 | ||
Munich Re | Insurer / Reinsurer | Germany | Oil sands | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019-12 | |
National Australia Bank (NAB) | Bank | Australia | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019-12 | |
Natixis | Insurer / Reinsurer | France | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2018-11 | |
NatWest Group (formerly The Royal Bank of Scotland Group) | Bank | UK | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-07 | |
NN Group (Nationale-Nederlanden) | Insurer / Reinsurer | Netherlands | Oil sands | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019-05 | |
Nordea | Bank | Finland | Oil sands | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019-05 | |
Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW) | Pension Fund | Netherlands | Oil sands | 2020-08 | ||
Rabobank | Bank | Netherlands | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-04 | |
Robeco | Asset Manager | Netherlands | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019-09 | |
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) | Bank | Canada | Arctic drilling | 2020-10 | ||
RSA Insurance Group | Insurer / Reinsurer | UK | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-01 | |
SCOR | Insurer / Reinsurer | France | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019-07 | |
Scotiabank | Bank | Canada | Arctic drilling | 2020-12 | ||
Société Générale | Bank | France | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2018-05 | |
Standard Chartered | Bank | UK | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020 | |
Storebrand | Asset Manager / Owner | Norway | Oil sands | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-08 | |
Suncorp Group | Insurer / Reinsurer | Australia | Will stop financing overall oil and gas sector | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-08 | |
Svenska Handelsbanken AB | Bank | Sweden | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-03 | |
Swedbank | Bank | Sweden | Arctic drilling | 2021-02 | ||
TD Bank Group | Bank | Canada | Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-11 | |
The Hartford Financial Services Group | Insurer / Reinsurer | US | Oil sands | 2019-12 | ||
The World Bank | Multilateral Development Bank | Washington | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2017-12 | |
UBS | Bank / Asset Manager | Switzerland | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure | 2020-03 | |
UniCredit | Bank | Italy | Oil sands Arctic drilling | 2019-09 | ||
Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company | Insurer / Reinsurer | Finland | Oil sands Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019-11 | |
Wells Fargo | Bank | US | Arctic drilling | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2020-03 | |
Zurich Insurance Group | Insurer / Reinsurer | Switzerland | Oil sands | Reducing total fossil fuel exposure Aligning with 1.5-2.0°C | 2019-06 |
Note
* Significant financial institutions are restricted from this tally if they have AUM<US$10billion, and/or the institution’s announcement has not been followed up with public disclosure, and/or the restrictions are selectively limited. Asset managers/owners are included only if AuM >US$50bn.
Insurance companies divest fossil fuel investments across their asset portfolio and restrict the provision of insurance, while banks restrict lending and underwriting to fossil fuel companies or projects.
IEEFA will continue to monitor announcements and will add or delete institutions pending implementation of said announcements.
Why are financial institutions restricting oil and gas funding?
Significant investors* are divesting from oil sands exploration, production, transport and processing, and also arctic oil and gas projects over concerns about carbon emissions.
These investors are increasingly aligning their portfolios with the emission reduction goals of the Paris Agreement.
Oil sands (sometimes known as tar sands) consist of heavy crude oil mixed with sand, clay and bitumen, and is used to produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum-based products.
To extract oil, oil/gas companies burn the fossil fuel ‘natural’ gas to generate enough heat and steam to melt the oil out of the sand. Some five barrels of water are needed to produce a single barrel of oil.
Oil sands extraction is among the world’s most carbon intensive large-scale crude oil operations. Carbon emissions are reported to be 31% higher than from conventional oil. The release of methane (from gas) during the oil extraction process generates upstream greenhouse gas emissions, which are worse for the climate than coal in the short term.
Arctic drilling to extract ‘natural’ gas and oil is more costly and technologically complicated than drilling for oil on land. Large amounts of water are consumed in the process. And the ability to respond to oil spills is severely limited.
Banks, insurers and asset managers are reducing or eliminating their support for fossil fuel projects.