has recently been reiterated through repeated statements from the United Nations: a bank cannot claim to be committed to net zero while supporting new oil and gas projects.”
BNP Paribas had been served notice that the NGOs were prepared to take legal action last year if it did not change its policies, and in January the bank promised to cut financing for the extraction and production of oil by 80% and gas by 30% by 2030. It said it would focus on supply and low-emission gas power plants, in line withBut campaigners were not satisfied.
In a statement, BNP Paribas said it regretted that the NGOs had chosen to engage in litigation rather than dialogue. “BNP Paribas, like other major international banks, is a longstanding financier of energy production. Approximately 10 years ago, 95% of our outstanding financing for energy production financed fossil energy projects. Today, already more than half of our financing for energy production is oriented towards low-carbon energies.”