Message From the Editor

If you’ve followed recent financial news, you’ll likely have heard about prominent institutions, including JP Morgan Chase and BlackRock, exiting or reducing their involvement with Climate Action 100+, an investor-led group working to get companies to act on climate. 

So it might have seemed like a surprising time for Barclays, one of the largest banks headquartered in the European Union, to announce it will stop funding new oil and gas projects.

DeSmog reporter Joe Fassler dug into the news and found that it’s not quite what it seems. The ban only pertains to “upstream” development, or exploration and extraction activities, as well as any related infrastructure. Still on the table — albeit with some new restrictions — are “unconventional” forms of extraction, including projects in the Amazon biome and ultra-deepwater drilling.

The ban also only covers direct financing of new oil and gas projects. It doesn’t prohibit the bank from providing more general corporate funding to fossil fuel producers, who can then use that funding however they wish, including — you guessed it! — for expansion. 

Some campaigners say this move, while welcome, doesn’t go far enough. But I like how the nonprofit Make My Money Matter put it to our reporter: “[it’s] like Barclays saying they would never directly invest in cigarettes, but are happy to provide billions to tobacco companies.”

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: [email protected]. Want to know what our UK team is up to? Sign up for our UK newsletter. 

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. Powerful public-interest journalism like this is made possible by readers like you. Can you donate $10 or $20 right now to support more of this essential work?

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Climate Trial Against Oil Giant Eni Opens in Italy

— By Stella Levantesi (5 min) —

Italy’s first climate change lawsuit brought by Greenpeace Italy and climate advocacy group ReCommon against Italian oil giant Eni opened with its first hearing on February 16, alleging the company contributed to global warming. 

The hearing comes alongside a new report by Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon, which describes how Eni’s technical consultants in the case have deep ties to the fossil fuel industry and climate deniers.

Critics Say Barclays’ New Restrictions on Financing Oil and Gas Projects Are Too Limited and Too Late

— By Joe Fassler (4 min. read) —

Barclays, one of the largest banks headquartered in the European Union, will stop funding new oil and gas projects. The shift is part of a slew of internal changes geared toward curbing emissions. But the newly adopted measures, which were announced last week, leave the London-based multinational with plenty of flexibility to continue financing fossil fuel extraction — and some critics say they don’t go far enough. 

“Overall we feel progress has been made by Barclays, but there are still areas of concern,” said Kelly Shields, a campaign manager with ShareAction, a UK-based nonprofit that used investor pressure to lobby the bank to change its lending practices.

What’s at Stake if the U.S. OK’s Building This Gas Pipeline to Mexico

— By Sara Sneath (5 min. read) —

In a rural area of West Texas, near the Mexico border, a cluster of geothermal springs once served as an oasis to the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas. Carpeted in grasses and shrubs, the land is home to rare aoudad sheep, deer, wild cats, and bobwhite quail. The muted tans and greens in the small valley and surrounding exposed rock mountains quiet the mind.

The pristine site is in the proposed pathway of the 48-inch-diameter Saguaro Connector Pipeline, which would send natural gas produced in Texas’s Permian Basin 155 miles west, across the U.S.-Mexico border, to a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Puerto Libertad, Mexico.

Greenwashing Through Sport

— By Freddie Daley and Andrew Simms (4 min. read) —

Later this week, Formula One’s wildly popular documentary series, Drive to Survive, will return with a sixth season. The dramatic show, which captures the highs and lows of motorsports’ biggest stage, boasts almost seven million viewers. 

The show has been pivotal for driving a whole new generation of fans to F1, a sport that now has an estimated 1.56 billion adoring devotees worldwide.

Government’s New Low Pay Advisor Heads Climate Denial Network

— By Adam Barnett (4 min. read) —

A new government advisor on the minimum wage is the head of an international network of climate crisis deniers funded by the owners of GB News, DeSmog can reveal.

Philippa Stroud was appointed chair of the Low Pay Commission, a body reporting to Kemi Badenoch’s Department of Business and Trade, on 30 January. The government-appointed role pays £530 per day for three days of work per month (£19,114 per year).

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ramaswamy is a venture capitalist who made his fortune in the biotech industry. He is known for writing a book titled 'Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam', which criticizes the environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) movement, and has been described as “the right’s most prominent crusader against climate-conscious investing.” In 2023, Ramaswamy announced his intention to run for president of the United States as a Republican candidate. According to Heated, “Ramaswamy’s style of fossil fuel boosterism, as described by the New Republic, is on the rise in Republican circles.”

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database and Koch Network Database.