Several associations at the origin of “the affair of the century” laid the first milestone towards a trial against the bank, the first world funder of the main majors of oil and gas.
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After “the affair of the century”, the BNP Paribas affair? Non -governmental organizations our affair to all and Oxfam France, which helped to have the state condemned for its “climate inaction”, now intend to open the “trial of a climate chaos”. A first milestone was laid on Wednesday, October 26: NGOs, joined in their approach by Friends of the Earth, formally put the first French bank formally to stop supporting the development of fossil fuels, learned Le Monde.
They are based on the law concerning the duty of vigilance, which obliges large French companies to identify risks and to prevent serious attacks on the environment and human rights that can result from their activities. In this case, associations criticize BNP Paribas for not applying it in climate matters, continuing to finance petroleum and gas projects. They fix an ultimatum to the banking group: he has three months to “comply with the law”. Otherwise, the associations will seize the Paris judicial court. With the objective of leading to the “first climate litigation in the world” involving a commercial bank. So far, states (France, the Netherlands) and petroleum groups (Shell) have been condemned.
“BNP Paribas is responsible for the climate crisis because it finances fossil fuels. She is becoming guilty, because, since the Paris Agreement [on the climate, concluded in December 2015, during COP21 ], despite its major promises, the first French bank has still not cut the tap, protests Cécile Duflot, director general of Oxfam France and former patron of the Greens. We are convinced that justice will help us to end A hypocrisy on the verge of becoming deadly. “
Why target BNP Paribas rather than another bank? Because it is the “world’s first world financier of the main majors in the sector”, justifies Lorette Philippot, specialist in climate and financial issues to friends of the Earth. Between 2016 (after the conclusion of the Paris Agreement) and 2021, the group injected more than $ 43 billion (43.4 billion euros) in the eight main European and American oil companies.
“Climatic bombs”
No other bank in the world has invested as much over this period, according to data compiled in the 2022 edition of Banking on Climate Chaos, reference report piloted by a dozen NGOs, including Reclaim Finance. The Americans City and J.P. Morgan Chase, who complete the podium, “only” injected $ 36 billion over the same period. Still as a comparison, the French Crédit Agricole and Société Générale rank in ninth and tenth position, with 15 billion and 13 billion dollars respectively. BNP Paribas is thus the first donor donor in BP and Shell and the major financier for six other giants: Total, Chevron, Exxonmobil, Eni, Repsol and Equinor.
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