Getting US banks out of fossil fuels

Stop Funding Heat
Organisation
The Stop the Money Pipeline (STMP) coalition
Grant
DKK 4,700,000
Programme Area
Sustainable Finance
Year
2023

Since late 2015, the six largest US banks have provided USD 1.4 trillion to the fossil fuel industry―nearly one-third of global commercial bank financing for fossil fuels since the Paris Agreement―making global climate goals much harder to achieve. However, there have been many climate positive developments in the financial sector since the Paris Agreement was signed, but now an “anti-ESG” sentiment has emerged in the US, prompting politicians to attack climate action in the financial sector and introduce more than 165 “anti-ESG” bills in 37 states. This has caused many financial institutions to backpedal on their climate ambitions. For instance, BlackRock―the world’s largest asset manager with nearly USD 10 trillion under management―has backtracked on its climate commitments, and major American banks are even bragging about their commitment to fossil fuel investment.

The Stop the Money Pipeline (STMP) coalition
The Stop the Money Pipeline (STMP) coalition is working to halt and reverse this development. STMP is a coalition of more than 230 civil society organizations aiming to push banks, insurance companies, and investors to stop providing financial services that enable fossil fuel expansion. STMP has a multi-pronged strategy focusing on 1) pushing for financial regulation, 2) campaigning selected banks, and 3) bank employee education and mobilization.