A new report has revealed something alarming. In 2024 alone, some of the world’s biggest banks gave a huge amount of money—$869 billion—to fossil fuel companies. That means they helped these companies build more oil rigs, gas pipelines, and coal plants.
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This is a big jump from 2023, when banks gave $707 billion. The increase in just one year is $162 billion.
The report is called Banking on Climate Chaos, and it looks at how 65 of the biggest banks around the world are helping fuel the climate crisis. These banks gave money to more than 2,700 companies that work with fossil fuels. Even though scientists have warned that we must stop expanding fossil fuel use if we want to stop climate change, the banks are doing the opposite.
Most of this money came in the form of loans and bonds. Loans increased from $422 billion in 2023 to $467 billion in 2024. Bonds saw the biggest rise—from $284 billion to $401 billion. Even money used to buy and take over other companies (called acquisition financing) increased from $63.7 billion to $82.9 billion.
This pattern is troubling because many of these banks had promised during a climate meeting in 2021 to reduce their support for polluting energy sources. Now, they seem to be breaking those promises.
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The report shows that banks are not just helping fossil fuel companies stay in business—they are also helping them grow. Since 2021, these banks have given $1.6 trillion to companies that are expanding their fossil fuel operations. In 2024 alone, $429 billion went to companies building new oil and gas projects or pipelines.
Some of these companies are working in places like Texas, Canada, and many other parts of the world. Their projects include drilling for more oil, building new pipelines, setting up new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, and even opening new coal and gas power plants.
One company received over $20 billion to continue oil and gas drilling in Texas. Another got over $16 billion to expand pipelines in the U.S. and Canada. Some companies are planning gas plants in North Carolina or continuing to rely on coal in other states, with little effort to switch to clean energy. These companies are among the biggest polluters, yet banks are still funding them heavily.
This type of financing often hides behind loopholes. For example, some banks won’t give money directly for a specific project but will still lend money to the company doing it. That way, they still help the polluting project happen but claim they aren’t directly involved.
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U.S. and Global Banks Lead the Pack in Fossil Fuel Support
The report also lists which banks are giving the most money to fossil fuel companies. One U.S. bank topped the list by giving more than $53 billion in 2024 alone. Together, the top four banks in the United States gave $183 billion—this is more than one-fifth of all the fossil fuel money tracked in the report. In fact, U.S. banks made up nearly one-third of all fossil fuel funding last year.
Banks from Japan also gave a large share—about 12% of the total for 2024. Nearly half of this Japanese funding went to fossil fuel companies based in the U.S.
In Europe, the biggest backer was a UK-based bank, which gave $35.4 billion in 2024. Other major banks in countries like Spain, France, Germany, and the UK also gave between $14 billion and $17.3 billion each to fossil fuel companies.
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All this financing adds up. Since 2016—just after the world agreed to take action against climate change in the Paris Agreement—banks have poured $7.9 trillion into fossil fuels. Instead of slowing down, they have started speeding up again.
The Banking on Climate Chaos report is made by several environmental organizations and supported by nearly 500 groups from around the world. They aim to track how the financial system is still helping polluters, even when the world faces a growing climate emergency.
This report shows one thing clearly: banks are still betting on fossil fuels, even when the planet is already feeling the heat.
