Four of the world's biggest banks have left the Equator Principles, a set of minimum industry standards and safeguards for financial institutions to address environmental and social risks in countries where they finance oil, gas, coal, infrastructure, and mining projects.
Banks agreed that the Equator Principles, which have been in place for more than 20 years, would serve as the foundation for financing deals on pollution-causing extractive projects, even though they are not legally binding.
US Banks Abandon Global Environmental, Social Standards Group
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 18: People involved in climate activism hold a demonstration in the Financial District of Manhattan to demand an end to fossil fuel funding by Wall Street and the American government on September 18, 2023 in New York City. The late morning protest, which wound through the area before ending at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York building, resulted in dozens of arrests on September 18, 2023 in New York City. The rally and protest comes as the United Nations Climate Ambition Summit brings world leaders to New York for the UN General Assembly.
According to The Guardian, American banks, including Citi, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, have left the institutions that have signed principles. Climate groups condemned the news as "shocking" and "cowardly".
Richard Brooks, the climate finance director at Stand.earth, said that it is a very troubling move by some of the world's biggest fossil fuel financing banks to abandon a bare minimum set of standards that they have set. He added that it is both ethically shocking and financially irresponsible.
Adele Shraiman, the Sierra Club's fossil-free finance campaign senior strategist, also claimed that this is another display of cowardice that shows how Wall Street is bending to pressure from climate-denier extremists rather than supporting some of their most basic climate and human rights commitments.
Reuters reported that representatives from the four banks stated they would continue to be informed by those principles. However, the banks' names have been removed from the Equator Principles list, including ten standards for project aspects ranging from initial due diligence to grievance mechanisms.
The move is part of a concerning pattern where US banks retreat from their pledges to protect the environment and the vulnerable communities impacted by their financing deals.
Republican-led states have been targeting "woke capitalism" and passing legislation to boycott banks and investors who support environmental, social, and governance (ESG) projects. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, used to support ESG but now talks about "transition investing."
Bank of America has lifted explicit bans on funding coal and Arctic drilling projects. JPMorgan Chase has implemented an "energy mix" for calculating its financed emissions that will include renewable energy sources and complicate evaluating the environmental impact of projects.
Furthermore, the banks' withdrawal from the environmental standards benchmark is the latest example of major financial services quitting corporate environmental programs since US Republican politicians began suggesting participation could breach antitrust rules.
It is unclear what effect the withdrawals will have, given that the banks are already the largest worldwide funders of coal, oil, and gas, investing $1.4 trillion in fossil fuel projects between 2016 and 2022.
Aditi Sen, the climate and energy director at Rainforest Action Network, said that the silent retreat from major US banks from this initiative is deeply concerning. Sen added that it further violates the rights of communities living on the front lines and fence lines worldwide who suffer the most from harmful initiatives.
West Gate Bridge Climate Protesters Arrested
According to Daily Mail Online, two climate protesters are in jail for blocking traffic lanes on a major Melbourne freeway during rush hour. Deanna 'Violet' Coco of NSW and Williamstown resident Bradley Homewood pleaded guilty to two public nuisance charges by obstructing motorists and police and emergency service workers.
The two were sentenced to 21 days imprisonment. Their co-accused, Joseph Zammit, 68, from Melbourne, also pleaded guilty to the same counts. Zammit was released on bail since he did not do any illegal acts during a protest and did not participate in unlawful protests with Coco and Homewood.
The environmental action group Extinction Rebellion members placed a truck on the West Gate Bridge around 7:45 am. They held their unfurled banners on top that read "declare a state emergency" and "climate breakdown has begun."
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