Over 80 organizations, including Make My Money Matter, Greenpeace UK, and Global Witness, have collectively penned letters to the chief executives of 12 major banks, imploring them to cease financing a company involved in the contentious development of the Rosebank oil field in the North Sea.
The targeted banks, including NatWest, Lloyds, and HSBC, have been urged to halt funding for Ithaca Energy, an oil and gas operator partnering with Norwegian major Equinor in the Rosebank development, a project situated northwest of the Shetland Islands.
According to the 2023 report by Banking on Climate Chaos, Lloyds, HSBC, and NatWest have provided substantial financing to Ithaca Energy in recent years. Despite public pledges by these banks to refrain from directly financing new oil and gas projects, concerns persist over their corporate-level financing to energy clients, which could indirectly fund such projects.
The letter highlights the Net Zero Banking Alliance’s objectives, emphasizing alignment with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C and transitioning towards green energy. However, the signatories argue that financing the Rosebank project contradicts these commitments.
Citing the International Energy Agency’s roadmap to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, the letter contends that no new oil and gas fields should be developed beyond those already approved before 2021. With Ithaca’s final investment decision on Rosebank announced in 2023, signatories assert that this move is incongruent with the 1.5°C warming target.
The activists stress the potential risks banks face by continuing to finance Ithaca, including damage to reputation, legal and regulatory challenges, and investor dissatisfaction. They call for a complete cessation of future financing to Ithaca, encompassing capital market activities and advisory services.
The plea from activists comes amidst legal challenges in Scottish courts against the government’s decision to greenlight drilling at the Rosebank oil field.
Lauren MacDonald of the Stop Rosebank campaign voices concern over the significant CO2 emissions associated with the project and urges banks to uphold their climate pledges by withholding financing until Ithaca discontinues its plans for Rosebank.
Henrieke Butijn, a climate campaigner and researcher at BankTrack, criticizes banks for financing companies like Ithaca, which solely focus on oil and gas expansion. Such financing, Butijn argues, undermines climate commitments and exacerbates the impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities worldwide.
