CashNews.co
Paris, October 15, 2024 – Major French banks have continued to support problematic coal sector companies, despite the commitments made four years ago, new analysis by Reclaim Finance reveals (1), which identifies several financial deals with companies developing new coal mines or power plants. The analysis finds that loopholes in the policies of the four banks, BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole and Banque Populaire Caisse d’Epargne (BPCE)/Natixis, are to blame. Reclaim Finance accuses the banks of misleading behaviour, given they have repeatedly declared their “exit from coal”. Reclaim Finance is calling on the French financial markets watchdog (the Autorité des marchés financiers) to put a stop to this greenwashing and to require banks to correct their practices, or face sanctions.
Financing to the coal sector from these banks has declined since the adoption of their policies in 2020 (2), but a number of problematic transactions still took place between 2021 and 2023. Reclaim Finance’s analysis reveals that BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole and Banque Populaire Caisse d’Epargne/Natixis continued to finance companies that are still developing new coal mines or power plants. These include South Korea’s Posco and Japan’s Mitsubishi. Financing has also been identified for companies that have not set a public date for exiting the coal sector, or that have set dates that are not aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5°C (3).
In total, 20 problematic groups received support from BNP Paribas, including 8 companies developing new coal mines or power plants, 11 groups received support from Crédit Agricole, 9 from Société Générale and 3 from BPCE/Natixis.