JP Morgan Chase have announced that it will end fossil fuel loans for Arctic oil drilling and begin to phase out loans for coal mining by 2024 under new green pledge.
The bank is prohibiting all kinds of direct financing worldwide for new or existing coal plants, unless the plants use technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions. Companies that get most of their revenue from coal mining will also have their services restricted, with a 2024 goal to phase out remaining credit exposure to those companies.
JP Morgan Chase also aim to offer £153 billion in environmental and economic development deals to help support clean energy and other sustainable projects.
A report by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) called "Banking on Climate Change" named JP Morgan Chase as the world's largest funder of fossil-fuel companies globally, leading by 29%. This action has come after JP Morgan Chase economists warned climate policy had to change or else the world faced irreversible consequences.
Many have been disappointed by the announcement, with Eli Kasargod-Staub, of ethical shareholder group Majority Action stating: "These steps pale in comparison to JP Morgan Chase's responsibility to confront the climate crisis and the systemic risks it poses to investors and global financial stability".
Others have pointed out that the restrictions in this new policy will only affect a very small number of their fossil lending.
Similar announcements have also been made by Goldman Sachs and BlackRock.
