According to new data, the top 20 European banks have supported 982 deals with upstream and midstream oil and gas companies since 2021, locking in continued fossil fuel development.
The analysis, carried out by Reclaim Finance with support from 14 NGOs, highlights that next year’s mandated transition plans will lack credibility unless banks cease financing new oil and gas fields and LNG terminal developments.
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“European banks are primarily financing fossil fuels,” stated Noam-Pierre Werlé, a policy analyst at Reclaim Finance, emphasising that this funding is mostly going toward fossil fuel activities, not the development of renewable energy. The research finds that the top banks provided US$48 billion to major European oil companies like BP, Shell, and TotalEnergies from 2021 to 2023, with an average of 72% of this funding directed toward fossil fuel projects rather than alternatives.
The analysis reports that UK banks Barclays and HSBC are the largest backers of oil and gas companies, while Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, UBS, and UniCredit were among those dedicating the highest proportions of their financing to fossil fuel activities. Reclaim Finance is urging regulators to set stricter standards for transition plans, ensuring that bank policies align with climate targets.
Reclaim Finance’s open letter, co-signed by organisations such as ActionAid Denmark and BankTrack, criticises banks for relying on “weak sectoral policies” and “decarbonisation targets” that fail to halt financing of oil and gas. The analysis notes that only 11 of the top 20 banks have policies to restrict financing for new oil and gas fields, and just four impose any restrictions on companies expanding in this sector. Quentin Aubineau, policy analyst at BankTrack, noted that “companies developing new upstream or midstream oil and gas projects are not transitioning and are accelerating the climate crisis.”
The analysis also finds gaps in policy among banks regarding LNG export terminals, with only one bank restricting finance for companies that develop these projects. While French banks BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole have limited support for bonds for upstream oil and gas, they have not excluded midstream developers.
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By GlobalDataWith banks required to publish climate impact and risk exposure data from next year, Reclaim Finance calls for regulators to make ending fossil fuel financing a core criterion in transition plans and to ensure effective enforcement mechanisms.
385 financial institutions are assessed in the Oil & Gas Policy Tracker
