exposed the financing reality of large banks since 2016 and found fossil fuel financing to be on an upward trend despite the COVID-induced decreases in 2020. Since many of the top financiers mentioned in such reports have set climate commitments, their credibility is rightly being questioned.World Benchmarking Alliance
found that out of 400 financial institutions studied, less than 2% had interim targets that covered all financing activities. This lack of coverage restricts how much a target will likely achieve. If only lending activities are on track to be Paris-aligned, for example, other financing activities running at business-as-usual have the potential to diminish progress.
It has become clear that the progress being made isn’t quite enough. Given all the gaps being exposed along the way, greenwashing has become a main concern when we look deeper at financial institutions’ commitments.there is increasing scrutiny on greenwashing.
As 2030 looms, we are reaching the point where it is imperative to see a distinguishable change in the way financial institutions operate if they claim to be on the road to net zero. To start, targets should be updated to address as many of the lingering concerns as possible. Additionally, it is up to these institutions to publish clearthat show how they will implement their commitments from here on out.
We have already seen examples of progress that reach beyond mainstream target-setting and greenwashing concerns. For example, shortly after the launch of the