BankTrack

💥 New report from #FairFinanceAsia reveals that Japanese and #ASEAN-based banks and investors are financing global electric vehicles manufacturers with supply chain links to #transitionminerals mines in #Indonesia and #Philippines which face allegations of #humanrights violations. ⛏️The report shows that across the different stages of Asia’s transition minerals #supplychains – upstream (extraction/mining), midstream (processing and refining the minerals), and downstream (battery manufacturing and sales) – there are distinct #humanrights and #environmental impacts, with the most serious harms usually occurring in and around #mining sites or the ‘upstream’ stage. There are also serious impacts on the ground, especially on #Indigenous communities, in the minerals smelting and processing stage, known as the ‘midstream’, usually because of high levels of pollution and poor environmental safeguards. ❗ The report highlights the urgent need to identify, mitigate, and address human rights and environmental risks and impacts in transition minerals supply chains in Indonesia and the Philippines, both of which dominate the global market for #nickel, #cobalt, and other transition minerals critical to the global energy transition towards renewables. The report was developed in collaboration with #FairFinanceJapan, #ResponsiBankIndonesia, Fair Finance Philippines, research partner Profundo, and Independent Researcher Richard Kent. Find out more 👉: https://lnkd.in/dAu52aG3 #responsibleinvesting #sustainablefinance Kyle Cruz Bernadette V. Srishty Anand Victoria C. Geraldine Grace Hoggang Saroeut Ven Barbara Kuepper Think Policy Indonesia Garry Lotulung 

It's high time for banks to end ALL coal finance. Whether burnt in a power plant, or a steel plant, coal is coal.

🔴 BREAKING: MUFG replaces Crédit Agricole as financial advisor for Papua LNG. With 30 other NGOs, we are reminding banks that this new liquefied natural gas (LNG) project is a dangerous climate bomb. Groupe Crédit Agricole ended its support for #PapuaLNG earlier this year, following criticism over the project’s impact on climate, biodiversity and human rights. However MUFG, the biggest supporter of #LNG expansion globally, took over and will now help the developers TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, Santos, and JX Nippon find financing for the project, despite its impacts. Therefore, with 30 other civil society organisations, such as CELCOR, Market Forces, JACSES, Friends of the Earth Japan, Jubilee Australia Research Centre, ActionAid Australia, we are calling on private and public banks to not finance the project. 📢 Barclays, BBVA, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, JPMorganChase, MUFG, Mizuho, Standard Chartered, UBS, rule out financing Papua LNG! https://lnkd.in/eR9CmNrA

📣 Two weeks left to apply! 📣 BankTrack is looking for a new Banks and Steel Campaigner to help end bank finance for metallurgical coal, and push banks to finance a just transition to fossil free steel. 📅 Apply by January 6th Find out more and apply: https://banktrack.org/jobs hashtag #ClimateJobs hashtag #Businessandhumanrights

What should a credible transition plan be for a bank, an investor, or an insurer?   Financial institutions’ transition plans are essential as these shape the economy for the coming decades. The services they provide enable companies to develop new projects, launch products, and expand. However, our research shows that major banks’ current strategies merely support the status quo of the “present”, contributing to #climate inaction and enabling the development of projects incompatible with a 1.5°C scenario. To chart a new course to a more desirable future, we need a new map. With sufficient ambition, robustness, and enforcement, climate transition plans can play that role. Indeed, transition plans are progressively becoming one of the main criteria for assessing how financial companies tackle - or fail to tackle - climate change in their strategies. ➡️ In a new briefing, Reclaim Finance provides recommendations on how to build such robust climate transition plans for financial institutions: - The document lays out essential criteria regarding #decarbonization targets, decarbonization strategies, public and private engagement, reporting and governance, as well as biodiversity and just transition. - It identifies “red flags” that represent major gaps and shortcomings in financial institutions’ transition plans. - Considering the specificities of each type of financial institution and potential constraints, it also identifies which financial services provided by banks, asset managers, asset owners and (re)insurers should be immediately included and which can be added at a later stage. 🔎 Check out the briefing to find out how financial institutions can take action to align with a more sustainable future. #TransitionPlan #Finance #bank #assetowner #assetmanager #insurer

We'll be holding the launch webinar for our recently-published Global Human Rights Benchmark early in the new year. Registration is now open! As well as a presentation of the Benchmark's results by BankTrack's Giulia B. and Ryan Brightwell, we’ll be joined by four great expert panellists for a discussion on the state of respect for human rights in the banking sector and what needs to be done to move forward. They are: Nadia Bernaz, Associate Professor at Wageningen University Law Group Ashleigh Owens, Deputy Director & Financial Institutions Lead at Shift Emil Sirén Gualinga, Indigenous rights and sustainable finance specialist  Magdalena Garcia Elorrio, Labour and Human Rights Project Coordinator at UNEP-FI Register now using this link: https://lnkd.in/eU6suEet Hope to see you there!

💌 We just sent an open letter to Maria Luís Albuquerque, the new Commissioner for Financial Services, co-signed by 15 organisations from the European Responsible Investment Network (ERIN), urging bold action on sustainable finance in the EU. We highlight key priorities for the upcoming mandate: 🔹 Improved sustainability disclosures: Harmonizing existing regulations to create a comprehensive EU corporate transition plan framework📊   🔹 Mainstreaming social sustainability: Developing clear frameworks to define and support socially sustainable activities🤝   🔹 Tackling risks from harmful investments: Introducing higher capital requirements for high-risk assets, such as fossil fuels, to ensure financial stability and support the green transition⛽❌ 🔹 Strengthening due diligence and investor engagement: Promoting robust standards and ensuring financial actors are held accountable for the impact of their investments🔍 In our letter, we also express serious concerns about the upcoming #Omnibus regulation, which risks undermining the EU’s sustainable finance framework and creating legal uncertainty for businesses. 🚨 The next five years are critical in shaping Europe’s future, and we must ensure that financial policies prioritize the well-being of people and the planet. We are committed to working with Commissioner Albuquerque to help steer EU policy toward a more sustainable and resilient economy. Read the full letter here: https://lnkd.in/eWKsGDbK AnsvarligFremtid ASUFIN BankTrack E3G Fair Finance International FEBEA - European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks and Financiers Frank Bold Climate&Strategy Foundation Milieudefensie Positive Money Europe Reclaim Finance - ONG T&E France (Transport & Environment) Urgewald WWF European Policy Office

Last month, we published a report that analysed the climate targets of Europe’s 20 biggest banks. Today, we've written to the CEOs of all 20 of them. In our report, we found that the current targets of top European banks, such as Barclays and HSBC , are not fit for purpose if we are to to achieve net zero by 2050. Banks need to start setting sector-specific targets for sustainable finance that are grounded in science. This will allow them to show key stakeholders how they plan to shift financing away from fossil fuels, and toward critical sectors like renewable energy. This morning, we sent a letter to the CEOs of all 20 of these underperforming banks. ✉️ We've outlined how they can - and should - set more ambitious, transparent and coherent targets that will help them reach their net zero goals and meet commitments to protect people and the planet. Hear more from the Head of our Banking Programme Jeanne Martin 🎥⬇

🚨 ArcelorMittal vient de lever 1 milliard d’euros sur le marché obligataire grâce à plusieurs banques telles que BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole ou encore Natixis du Groupe BPCE. Leader de l’#acier, ArcelorMittal n’a à l’heure actuelle pas de stratégie #climat suffisamment ambitieuse pour s’aligner sur une trajectoire permettant de limiter le réchauffement planétaire à +1,5°C. L’entreprise ne s’est notamment toujours pas engagée de façon nette à arrêter de construire de nouveaux hauts fourneaux, ni à cesser de prolonger leur durée de vie. En d’autres termes, #ArcelorMittal n’est toujours pas en voie d’abandonner le #charbon métallurgique dans sa production. L’aciériste envoie également des signaux très inquiétants quant à sa capacité à développer les modes de production d’acier décarbonés. Il vient en effet de mettre en pause ses projets de décarbonation en Europe. Face à cette trop lente décarbonation, les banques ont un rôle clé à jouer. BNP Paribas, Groupe Crédit Agricole, Groupe BPCE (#Natixis), Citi, Goldman Sachs, HSBC et Intesa Sanpaolo doivent cesser d’accorder des soutiens inconditionnés à l’aciériste comme elles viennent de le faire au travers de ces deux obligations. 📢  Au contraire, alors qu'ArcelorMittal doit publier une mise à jour très attendue de ses engagements climatiques, elles doivent absolument exiger que l’aciériste s’engage de façon claire à arrêter de développer de nouveaux hauts fourneaux et à prolonger leur durée de vie. Tant que l’aciériste ne se sera pas engagé sur une trajectoire de décarbonation alignée avec l’objectif 1,5°C, tout soutien qui lui sera apporté par les banques ne pourra être considéré comme étant en accord avec leurs engagements climatiques. Fédération Nationale des Banques Populaires (FNBP) Fédération nationale des Caisses d'Epargne (FNCE)

Together with the Fair Steel Coalition, we're calling on banks and investors to end unrestricted finance for ArcelorMittal ❌ 💵. Last Friday, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB, Citi, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, helped ArcelorMittal raise EUR 1 billion on the capital market. This deal came just two weeks after ArcelorMittal backtracked on its climate commitments in Europe, and after communities have contacted these same banks to raise serious human rights concerns about the companies operations in Liberia, Mexico, and South Africa. The new finance provided to ArcelorMittal does not have environmental or social conditions attached, meaning there is the possibility for the company to use the debt to expand or prolong it's coal-fired operations. Any future finance provided to a steel major like ArcelorMittal, who has demonstrated that it's not serious about climate action, must include STRONG conditionalities that ensure the company phases out coal, and upholds it's responsibilities to communities. Read our response to the bond issuance here: https://bit.ly/4gg3EAQ