(C) Common Dreams
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Banks and investors’ unrestricted finance for LNG is fueling a future climate bomb [1]
['Léo Martin']
Date: 2024-12-05
5 December 2024 – Global plans to build new liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals could unleash more than 10 gigatonnes of climate-wrecking greenhouse gas emissions, according to new research published today (1). The expansion of LNG depends on the support of banks and investors who continue to pump unrestricted finance into the sector, with banks providing US$213 billion for LNG expansion between 2021 and 2023 (2). Reclaim Finance and BankTrack warn that the emissions from these projects, which can be more damaging than coal (3), will breach net zero goals and urges banks and investors to stop providing financial support to the developers of all new LNG projects, and to primarily stop financing export terminals.
LNG development is booming, despite International Energy Agency projections showing over-capacity for the sector (4). Oil and gas companies such as Shell, TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy, as well as LNG specialists such as Venture Global LNG, plan to massively expand their operations, with 156 new LNG terminals planned by 2030.
This includes 63 new export terminals, which largely due to methane leakage, could produce an estimated 10 gigatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade (5). This is almost as much as the annual emissions of all the coal plants in operation worldwide (6). These projects will also inflict dangerous levels of air pollution and health risks on local communities (7).
Banks and investors are continuing to back the companies behind these projects, and are increasing their support (8), even though many of the biggest banks have committed to net-zero emissions targets by 2030 (9). Between 2021 and 2023, international banks provided US$213 billion in support to LNG expansion, while investors held more than US$252 billion in investments in LNG expansion as of May 2024 (10).
Just a few international banks are responsible for the majority of finance for LNG expansion, with the top 30 banks providing 71%. While Japanese and US banks top the list, with Mitsubishi UFJ and JPMorgan Chase leading, European banks are responsible for more than a quarter of LNG expansion support, with Santander, ING, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo and BPCE all in the top 30 LNG expansion backers.
US investors account for 71% of the total investment in LNG expansion, with BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street topping the list.
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[1] Url:
https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/12/05/banks-and-investors-unrestricted-finance-for-lng-is-fueling-a-future-climate-bomb/
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