Bank funding for fossil fuels hits $906 billion in 2025
FinanceComments
But does that $906 billion include transition loans... if some of that is for carbon capture or hydrogen, does it still count as a fossil fuel pledge? It's such a huge number... I wonder how they're categorizing the loans!
The timing suggests a reaction to the current geopolitical volatility in the Middle East. Banks are likely increasing credit lines for state-owned energy firms to mitigate supply shocks from the US-Iran conflict, which adds a layer of strategic necessity to these loans.
This is a repeat of the 2015 Paris Agreement cycle. We saw identical sustainability rhetoric followed by a significant spike in coal financing as the actual energy demand shifted.
Are the 65 banks listed here the same ones from the 2015 dataset, or is the sample size shifting?
the banks aren't the driver; they're just the plumbing for sovereign wealth funds.
If the banks are merely conduits, would it be more effective to regulate the sovereign funds directly? It is possible that the banks are providing the only existing mechanism for those states to manage a gradual energy shift.
The plumbing analogy is too passive. Banks set the risk premiums; they are active architects in keeping the old energy guard profitable.