Among world’s top 60 banks those in US are biggest fossil fuel financiers, while Barclays leads way in Europe
The world’s big banks have handed nearly $7tn (£5.6tn) in funding to the fossil fuel industry since the Paris agreement to limit carbon emissions, according to research.
In 2016, after talks in Paris, 196 countries signed an agreement to limit global heating as a result of carbon emissions to at most 2C above preindustrial levels, with an ideal limit of 1.5C to prevent the worst impacts of a drastically changed climate.
In case you thought you can personal responsibility climate change away, more than most banks use your money to invest in ruining any progress you may have otherwise made.
There is banks that explicitly do not invest in these things. Does not mean that the little guy is responsible, but we aren’t all powerless.
It’s such a slippery slope I think. Yes, we all have to change our behaviour. But what does it help if I do it when the market is not regulated in a way that discourages climate damaging behaviour?
It’s like, yeah, I can boycott Nestlé, and I do, but in the end they will push as far as legislation will let them. So my boycott is essentially meaningless beyond feeling good about myself. And it’s potentially even harmful in the sense that it shifts the responsibility for change unto the individual.I would like to focus on a different consideration. When you do what is in your small power, it is empowering. And if you feel empowered, you are more inclined to expect and demand action from political and economical actors, as well as it can protect you against emotional campaigns like the shaming, or pushing for people feeling desolate and giving up on change.
The recent boycotts had a far bigger effect than expected. Restored a lot of confidence into individual choices.
In this case, regulation is the only way to slow down something that is otherwise quite profitable, as the money is not “given” but those are.loans that are being repaid. But then regulation is not perfect since regulatory bodies are staffed by former bank executives.
There are very few that do, and unless you actively sought them out for that explicit purpose, you’re more than likely not using one. This video goes over how even most banks with any number of kinds of pledges for sustainability lie about it.
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First time I see “tn” used
Just wanted to write that. If 1 billion is unimaginable to us regular people, a thousand more of these is something completely unreal.
7,000,000,000,000
Sure that number might look big. BUT YOU DON’T FEEL IT just looking at it.
And that’s seven trillion right ther’. That’s 7000 billion. Whew. P.S Rip Byron. We hardly knew ye.
We are all sooooo fucked!
There is so much to do with that amount of money. Like building 100m of that neom city.
Bro such a great idea!! Like a long city in the dessert, like a line, bro, like this line right here, like it’ll totally, fucking climate change, like it’s the future, I swear, the most insane, just imagine the internet, in like, it’s a line, and, hear me out, it’s in the dessert, that’ll show that we don’t, like, it’s not just oil and patria-, bro like get the black AMEX r.e.a.d.y., I need the concierge service to deliver me some fucking Canadian lobster up this bitch right now,
At current market rates that is enough money to build about 8 TWp of solar power. That would cover about 15% of all global energy demand, including heating, transportation etc.
burn, baby! burn!
