Defunded: Financing for Oil and Gas from Big U.S. Banks Has Plunged
Financing of the oil and gas industry by the biggest banks in the U.S. was far below prepandemic levels in 2021, according to data from a group of climate change activist organizations.
The four largest U.S. banks—J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America—provided the oil and gas sector with $181.2 billion of financing in 2021. That is 14.3 percent below the 2019 level, according to data in the 13th annual “Banking on Climate Chaos” study.
Those four banks together account for one-quarter of all fossil fuel financing, according to the report.
Soaring oil prices due to insufficient supplies have pushed gasoline prices to record highs recently, causing frustration for U.S. consumers and fueling inflation. On Thursday, President Joe Biden said the U.S. would release one million barrels a day from government stockpiles in an effort to lower the price.
The report calls for banks to “prohibit all financing for all fossil fuel expansion projects and for all companies expanding fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure along the whole value chain.” It also calls for banks to begin eliminating all financing for fossil fuel extraction.- READ MORE
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