Post by account_disabled on Feb 18, 2024 5:47:04 GMT
According to Business Green , we are experiencing a crucial moment in the history of our planet, in which addressing climate change requires a profound transformation of global economic and political systems. However, despite warnings about the risks this poses to humanity and the global economy, financial giants are accused of gaslighting .
The term gaslighting refers to a form Middle East Mobile Number List of psychological manipulation in which a person seeks to make another person doubt their own perception of reality. In this context, the investigation denounces that highly influential companies and financial institutions continue to provide financing to the fossil fuel industry, despite the climate commitments made and the environmental and economic risks that this entails.
Investors remain in fossils
The analysis carried out by Reclaim Finance and Beyond Fossil Fuels – two organizations focused on environmental and financial issues related to the fossil fuel industry and climate change – states that since 2019 the main banks and investors have injected more than 500 billion dollars into the European gas sector.
This comes as the continent has announced efforts to accelerate its transition towards more sustainable energy sources and away from risky, volatile and expensive fossil fuel sources.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has faced significant energy supply challenges—since it was heavily dependent on Russian gas. Its lawmakers have therefore been accelerating measures to increase clean energy capacity, while continuing to call on companies with operations in the country to boost Europe's electricity system to reach net zero by 2035.
However, the news that financiers are being accused of gaslighting , the report reveals, comes because, despite the urgency to move away from gas-fired power, dozens of leading banks and investors have provided more than $314 billion to the gas sector from 2019 to 2022, plus another $200 billion since November last year.
So if financial institutions do not restrict their support for this industry and instead continue to provide billions of dollars in financing, this could increase greenhouse gas emissions in Europe and around the world, which would have serious consequences for the environment, climate change and the global economy.
Energy transition is urgent
Like other specialists on the subject, Claire Maraval, public services and European transition campaigner at Reclaim Finance and lead author of the report, points out that switching from gas power plants to renewable energy is essential if European companies want to decarbonize their energy sectors. by 2035, to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
«This report sends a clear warning to financial institutions that it is time to rethink. “Net zero means phasing out gas and absolutely no new gas-fired power plants, and they must update their policies to reflect this.”
Claire Maraval, public services and European transition campaigner at Reclaim Finance and lead author of the report.
This is also in line with the International Energy Agency's (IEA) scenario outlook for achieving net-zero emissions worldwide. They emphasize the need for rapid decarbonization of electricity, supported by nine times more investment in renewable and clean energy than today.
The report also finds that almost all utilities operating in Europe have not yet published any plans to phase out their dependence on gas, and that around 80 companies have plans to develop new gas facilities, with more than 63 GW of planned gas plants, of which 18% are already under construction.
Financiers accused of gaslighting exposed
Among the banks that have provided financing to companies in the gas energy sector in Europe are BNP Paribas, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Citigroup and BBVA, while the companies that have received the most financial support are Enel, Vitol SA, Mitsubishi Corp and RWE AG. Also mentioned is Engie, a French energy company that has received $21 billion in financial support, according to the investigation.
The term gaslighting refers to a form Middle East Mobile Number List of psychological manipulation in which a person seeks to make another person doubt their own perception of reality. In this context, the investigation denounces that highly influential companies and financial institutions continue to provide financing to the fossil fuel industry, despite the climate commitments made and the environmental and economic risks that this entails.
Investors remain in fossils
The analysis carried out by Reclaim Finance and Beyond Fossil Fuels – two organizations focused on environmental and financial issues related to the fossil fuel industry and climate change – states that since 2019 the main banks and investors have injected more than 500 billion dollars into the European gas sector.
This comes as the continent has announced efforts to accelerate its transition towards more sustainable energy sources and away from risky, volatile and expensive fossil fuel sources.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has faced significant energy supply challenges—since it was heavily dependent on Russian gas. Its lawmakers have therefore been accelerating measures to increase clean energy capacity, while continuing to call on companies with operations in the country to boost Europe's electricity system to reach net zero by 2035.
However, the news that financiers are being accused of gaslighting , the report reveals, comes because, despite the urgency to move away from gas-fired power, dozens of leading banks and investors have provided more than $314 billion to the gas sector from 2019 to 2022, plus another $200 billion since November last year.
So if financial institutions do not restrict their support for this industry and instead continue to provide billions of dollars in financing, this could increase greenhouse gas emissions in Europe and around the world, which would have serious consequences for the environment, climate change and the global economy.
Energy transition is urgent
Like other specialists on the subject, Claire Maraval, public services and European transition campaigner at Reclaim Finance and lead author of the report, points out that switching from gas power plants to renewable energy is essential if European companies want to decarbonize their energy sectors. by 2035, to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
«This report sends a clear warning to financial institutions that it is time to rethink. “Net zero means phasing out gas and absolutely no new gas-fired power plants, and they must update their policies to reflect this.”
Claire Maraval, public services and European transition campaigner at Reclaim Finance and lead author of the report.
This is also in line with the International Energy Agency's (IEA) scenario outlook for achieving net-zero emissions worldwide. They emphasize the need for rapid decarbonization of electricity, supported by nine times more investment in renewable and clean energy than today.
The report also finds that almost all utilities operating in Europe have not yet published any plans to phase out their dependence on gas, and that around 80 companies have plans to develop new gas facilities, with more than 63 GW of planned gas plants, of which 18% are already under construction.
Financiers accused of gaslighting exposed
Among the banks that have provided financing to companies in the gas energy sector in Europe are BNP Paribas, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Citigroup and BBVA, while the companies that have received the most financial support are Enel, Vitol SA, Mitsubishi Corp and RWE AG. Also mentioned is Engie, a French energy company that has received $21 billion in financial support, according to the investigation.