London banks emitted 805m tonnes of carbon emissions in 2019 study finds
British banks and asset managers finance nearly double the annual carbon emissions of the UK, a report has revealed.
Greenpeace and WWF co-published the study, which found that loans and investments provided by London finance companies for projects and businesses, emitted 805m tonnes of carbon emissions in 2019.
The figure amounts to 1.8 times the UK’s yearly net emissions for 2019, totalling 455m tonnes.
If the City was ranked as a country, it would surpass Germany as the ninth largest emitter of carbon emissions in the world.
Both Greenpeace and WWF are encouraging the UK government to implement new regulations that would align the finance sector with the Paris Climate Accord.
Executive director of Greenpeace UK John Sauven said the UK could not ignore its financial institutions’ contribution to climate change, especially ahead of the Cop26 conference in Glasgow.
“Finance is the UK’s dirty little secret,” Sauven said. “Banks and investors are responsible for more emissions than most nations, and the UK government is giving them a free pass. How can we say we’re ‘leading the world on climate action’ while allowing financial institutions to plough billions into fossil fuel production every year? The claim is almost laughable.”
Tanya Steele, the chief executive of WWF UK, called on the financial sector to move to zero carbon transition plans that cover their investments all over the world.
“Trying to set a path to net-zero emissions without tackling the UK financial sector is like sticking a plaster when the patient needs open heart surgery,” she said.
“Despite seeing ambitious commitments to tackle the climate emergency, our finance sector is still driving global investment towards the old, destructive ways of doing business that are destroying our one shared home.”