Frankfurt. Trillions of dollars in bank financing to fossil fuel companies are channelled through opaque financial centres in several countries, including the Netherlands, according to research published on Wednesday.
The study by the Tax Justice Network, which campaigns against tax havens, highlights the lack of transparency in the financing of energy companies.
The study examined $6.9 trillion in syndicated financing from 60 global banks to fossil fuel companies such as coal miners and shipping companies between 2016 and 2023, including loans, credit lines and bonds.
“We are raising the alarm about banks and fossil fuel companies laundering their finances to hide how much money they are actually investing in fossil fuels,” said Franziska Mager, one of the report’s authors.
The Netherlands has introduced reforms in an attempt to shake off its image as a conduit for money flows to countries with very low tax rates.
A spokesman for the Dutch Finance Ministry said the country has done much to combat tax evasion, focusing on money flows through the country and countering “abusive structures,” leading to a decrease in money going to states with low tax rates.
The syndicated financing highlighted in the study represents a small fraction of total bank lending to the fossil fuel industry, but the study’s authors say it shows how the full extent of fossil fuel financing is hidden.
Investors and environmental activists are increasingly putting pressure on big banks to reduce financing of fossil fuels.
Europe’s climate change monitoring service said last week that the world has experienced the hottest northern hemisphere summer on record and that extreme weather will become more intense if countries do not cut planet-warming emissions.
Greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are the main cause of climate change.
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– 2024-09-23 14:53:40
