Deutsche Bank backs off oilsands, coal
Greenpeace hails bank’s announcement as boost for the environment
Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank is joining a lengthening list of European lenders and insurance companies that say they won’t back new oilsands projects.
The German bank says its new fossil fuels policy will also prohibit investing in projects that use hydraulic fracturing or fracking in countries with scarce water supplies and all new oil and gas projects in the Arctic region.
It says its ban on oilsands financing, effective immediately, will include exploration, production, transport or processing, seemingly including oilsands pipelines and upgraders or refineries.
It says it will stop financing and capital markets transactions involving coal mining by 2025 at the latest after achieving a goal last year to reduce its loan exposure to coal-fired power plants by 20 per cent. It says it won’t finance any new coal power plants. Deutsche Bank says the moves are part of a commitment to align its credit portfolios with the greenhouse gas reduction goals of the Paris Agreement.
Two years ago, Europe’s largest bank, HSBC Holdings plc, announced it would no longer offer financial services for new oilsands projects or pipelines, a move that led to producer Suncor Energy Inc. vowing to end all business with HSBC, including in its conventional oil operations in Europe.
“Deutsche Bank’s updated fossil fuel policy is the latest warning shot telling us that doubling down on coal, oil and gas will sink our economy while destabilizing the climate,” said Greenpeace Canada campaigner Keith Stewart.
“We still have time to protect the workers, communities and regions currently dependent on oil.”