The world’s 60 largest banks have provided $3.8tn of financing for fossil fuel companies since the Paris climate agreement in 2015, a coalition of NGOs have said. While the coronavirus pandemic has triggered a drop in energy use, funding is still net rising.

US and Canadian banks comprise 13 of the 60 banks analysed but account for almost half of global fossil fuel financing over the last five years. Of the 60 banks, 17 have made a commitment to being net zero by 2050, but the NGOs say this must be backed up with meaningful action. Mark Campanale, of the financial thinktank Carbon Tracker, said: “Banks provide the financial oxygen that allows the fossil fuel industry to breathe”. (Guardian 24 mar 2021).

My comment:  You would think that the banks would be hurriedly investing in climate- friendly technologies that they could dominate and thus continue making lashings of cash. Apparently not.  I believe BP and Shell, for instance, have seen the light, but not the American and Canadian oil companies , who are still busy drilling. Denial of science and suspicion of scientists seems to be more common than I thought.