The world’s top 65 banks have financed fossil fuels with $7.9 trillion since the Paris Agreement, according to the latest edition of the Banking on Climate Chaos report. The report is endorsed by 492 organizations from 69 countries, including Laudato Si’ Movement, CAFOD, GreenFaith, JustMoney Movement and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR).
Big banks poured $869 billion into fossil fuels in 2024 alone, with two thirds of banks covered in the report increasing their fossil fuel financing last year. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), any new fossil fuel expansion projects are incompatible with achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
One of the key findings is that despite having adopted ‘net zero’ and other climate pledges in recent years, many global banks have abandoned these pledges and substantially increased their fossil fuel financing in 2024, the hottest year on record.
JP Morgan Chase ($53.5 billion) was the world’s biggest fossil fuel financier in 2024 –– followed by Bank of America ($46 billion) and Citigroup ($44.7 billion). Barclays was the largest fossil fuel financier in Europe ($35.4 billion) – ramping up fossil fuel financing by over 50% in 2024.
Other banks analysed in the report include:
- US banks including Wells Fargo (5th largest fossil fuel financier globally, financing $39.3 billion of fossil fuels in 2024), Goldman Sachs (10th largest / $28.5 billion) and Morgan Stanley ($27 billion)
- Japanese banks including Mizuho Financial (4th / $40.3 billion), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (6th / $38.1 billion) and SMBC Group ($27.9 billion)
- Canadian banks including Royal Bank of Canada (8th / $34.3 billion), Toronto-Dominion Bank (9th / $29 billion), Scotiabank ($26.2 billion), CIBC ($22.3 billion) and BMO Financial Group ($19.9 billion)
- UK banks including HSBC ($16.2 billion), NatWest ($2.7 billion) and Lloyds Banking Group ($1.6 billion)
- Spanish banks including Santander ($17.3 billion), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) ($9.2 billion) and La Caixa Group ($2.4 billion)
- French banks including BNP Paribas ($14.1 billion), Crédit Agricole ($12.7 billion), Société Générale ($11.7 billion) and Groupe BPCE ($11 billion)
- German banks including Deutsche Bank ($14.3 billion) and Commerzbank ($4.5 billion)
- Dutch banks including ING Group ($10.2 billion) and Rabobank ($3.8 billion)
- Swiss bank UBS ($7.8 billion)
- Italian banks including UniCredit ($6.2 billion) and Intesa Sanpaolo ($5 billion)
Since the publication of the report, Reclaim Finance has revealed that French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies recently raised €3 billion through bonds with support from Société Générale, Deutsche Bank, BBVA, JP Morgan, MUFG, RBC and Wells Fargo.
Last month, Laudato Si’ Movement organised a London Climate Action Week event on the role of faith groups in the global movement for fossil free finance, with speakers including Sr Susan Francois CSJP (Sisters of St Joseph of Peace), Lorna Gold and James Buchanan (Laudato Si’ Movement), Martyna Dominiak (Stand.Earth), Matt Ceaser (JustMoney Movement) and Bokani Tshidzu (Operation Noah). Christians in the UK were encouraged to join the Big Bank Switch by pledging to switch to a greener bank.
Photo credit: John Walsh
In November 2024, Catholic religious orders and charities—including the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace, SCIAF, and the National Justice & Peace Network—joined over 70 Christian organizations in urging the UK’s five biggest banks to stop financing new fossil fuel projects.
Responding to the Banking on Climate Chaos report, Bishop Gerry Alminaza of San Carlos and Chair of the Laudato Si’ Programme in the Philippines, who recently raised concerns at European bank AGMs, said:
“Despite the Paris Agreement and the worsening climate emergency —already a harsh reality for us in the Global South—many financial institutions, as this report reveals, continue to fund fossil fuel companies. This makes them directly responsible for the growing loss of lives, livelihoods, and biodiversity.
We have witnessed this clearly in the devastating impact on the Verde Island Passage and the Coral Triangle—vital for both communities and ecosystems.
Profit is still being placed above people and planet. Have we lost our sense of shared humanity? Have we forgotten that we are deeply interconnected and that the suffering of one ultimately affects us all?”
Sr. Susan Francois CSJP, Assistant Congregation Leader and Treasurer of the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace, who filed a resolution against Citigroup over its impact on Indigenous rights, added:
“Pope Francis was clear that God wants the economy to serve life, not destroy Earth—our Common Home. As Sisters, we are committed to engaging financial institutions to advocate for responsible investment in present and future generations.”
James Buchanan, Climate Finance Campaign Manager at Laudato Si’ Movement, said:
“In 2024—the hottest year ever recorded—it’s alarming that major banks have significantly increased their fossil fuel financing. One of the most powerful actions Catholics can take is switching to greener banks, aligning our money with our faith.”
Have you already switched to a greener bank?
Read Bishop Gerry Alminaza’s call for banks to stop financing fossil fuels and find out how you can join the Big Bank Switch campaign.
