It’s hypocrisy. Out in the open. For everyone to see.
HSBC and Standard Chartered are both in the Net Zero Banking Alliance – a group of banks committed to reducing their fossil fuel investments. Yet at the same time, they’re giving billions to Saudi Aramco, the biggest polluters in the world.
Saudi Aramco, has plans to increase its production of oil and gas equivalent to 27 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030 , 4.7 per cent of the entire world’s carbon budget to stay under 1.5ºC. It’s believed they’re responsible for 4 per cent of the entire world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Make no mistake, the banks know all of this. It’s astonishing to watch the banks proclaim to be moving into a greener future and taking climate change seriously whilst stuffing the pockets some of the worst climate criminals in the world.
It’s the latest in a decades of ongoing (and often increasing) support from HSBC to Saudi Aramco. They helped float Aramco on the stock exchange, raising $25.6bn. They provided $97m for a huge refinery, two months after HSBC made its ‘Net Zero’ commitment. The bank also acted as a financial advisor on an April 2021 $12.4bn transaction where a coalition of investors bought a large stake in a newly-formed Saudi Aramco subsidiary.
Here’s the letter from Stand.Earth to Mark Carney: https://www.stand.earth/carney
Read more here: https://www.cityam.com/hsbc-deepens-ties-with-saudi-rulers-as-canary-wharf-approves-10bn-credit-facility-to-mass-polluter-saudi-aramco/