Bank Rules Out Thermal Coal and Arctic Oil Projects, Commits to Exit Coal Mining
By LAUREL SUTHERLIN, Rainforest Action Network
December 15, 2019
San Francisco– Goldman Sachs today announced the strongest fossil finance restrictions of any major U.S. bank, though it still lags behind its leading global competitors. It also remains far from alignment with what is needed to limit climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Goldman Sachs has ruled out direct finance for new or expanding thermal coal mines and coal-fired power plant projects worldwide, as well as direct finance for new Arctic oil exploration and production. The policy makes explicit mention of protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The bank has also committed to a phase-out of financing for significant thermal coal mining companies that do not have a diversification strategy.
With this policy revision, Goldman Sachs becomes the first major U.S. bank to establish explicit restrictions on financing for any part of the oil and gas sector. It is also the first major U.S. bank to rule out direct finance for thermal coal mines and plants worldwide. This is a crucial step forward, as other U.S. bank coal finance restrictions have geographic loopholes.
While other major U.S. banks have committed to reducing credit exposure to coal mining, their approach restricts only lending, ignoring the large amounts of capital the banks facilitate for the coal industry from the underwriting of issuances of stocks and bonds. Goldman Sachs’s new policy tightens the screw on thermal coal by (1) including underwriting, and (2) explicitly committing to phase-out, not just reduction.
Jason Opeña Disterhoft, Climate and Energy Senior Campaigner at Rainforest Action Network (RAN), issued the following statement on RAN’s behalf.
“By ruling out direct finance for Arctic oil exploration and production, Goldman has established the first no-go zone for a major U.S. bank in the oil and gas sector. Goldman Sachs’s updated policy shows that U.S. banks can draw red lines on oil and gas, and now other major U.S. banks, especially JPMorgan Chase –– the world’s worst banker of fossil fuels by a wide margin –– must improve on what Goldman has done.
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