Big banks are financing even MORE oil and gas

Photo by Cathy Becker

We can help you move your money to support your community

By Cathy Becker, Responsible Finance Campaign Director

Earlier this year, Green America released its expanded and upgraded Get A Better Bank map, with 17,000 branches of 3,000 mission-driven banks and credit unions. These banks and credit unions invest in affordable housing, sustainable agriculture, small green businesses, lending to minority communities, and many other community-building activities.

Our bank map is needed now more than ever, after the publication of Banking on Climate Chaos Fossil Fuel Finance Report 2025. The report spotlights how the largest banks in the world are profiting from fossil fuels that are driving us off the climate cliff.

In its 16th edition, this year's Banking on Climate Chaos report analyzes lending and underwriting by the world's 65 largest banks for corporations involved in the extraction, transportation, transmission, distribution, combustion, trade, or storage of fossil fuels. The report is authored by Rainforest Action Network and seven other environmental nonprofits.

The findings are stark:

• These 65 banks committed $869 billion to fossil fuel companies in 2024 -- $162 billion more than the previous year.

• Of that amount, $429 billion went to companies expanding fossil fuel production and infrastructure.

• Over 2/3 of these banks (45 of 65) increased fossil fuel financing from 2023 to 2024. Even more (48 of 65) increased finance for fossil fuel expansion.

As in previous years, U.S. banks play a key role in fossil fuel finance, with 10 among the 65 highest fossil fuel financers.

Global rank	Bank Name	2024 fossil fuel finance	Change in financing 2023-2024
1	JPMorgan Chase	$53.5 B	+$15.0 B
2	Bank of America	$46 B	+$12.7 B
3	Citigroup	$44.7 B	+$14.9 B
5	Wells Fargo	$39.3 B	+$9.1 B
10	Goldman Sachs	$28.5 B	+$9.5 B
12	Morgan Stanley	$27 B	+$7.6 B
19	Truist Financial	$16.6 B	+$2.3 B
22	PNC Financial Services	$15.3 B	+$2.6 B
25	US Bancorp	$13 B	+$863 M
40	Capital One Financial	$5.5 B	+$1.1 B
	TOTAL	$131 B	+$75.7 B

Data from Banking on Climate Chaos 2025

The longer-term numbers are even worse:

• The 65 largest banks have committed $3.3 trillion in fossil fuel financing since 2021 -- the year the International Energy Agency published its Net Zero by 2050 roadmap, which found no room for any expansion of fossil fuels.

• The 65 largest banks have committed $7.9 trillion in fossil fuel financing since 2016 -- the year the Paris Agreement went into effect, when all nations of the world committed to keeping global heating to no more than 1.5° C (2.7° F).

Last year, 2024, was the world's hottest year on record, with the 10 warmest years occurring in the last decade. Last year also saw 27 climate disasters costing $1 billion or more in the United States.

This year, 2025, has already seen the deadly Los Angeles wildfires estimated to cost $250 million in damages and economic loss. Climate change made these fires 35% more likely, according to an attribution study .

How Wall Street banks see our climate future

Yet the world's largest banks are not only knowingly financing this destruction, they are looking to profit from it.

Recent reports from Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase show that top Wall Street financial institutions think the world will blow through the 2°C upper limit set by the Paris Agreement. "We now expect a 3C world," the Morgan Stanley report states.

At 3°C (5.4°F) of global warming, scientists predict 600 million people will be forced to migrate due to flooding from rising seas, food production will drop by half, and wildlife habitats will suffer devastating loss.

At 3°C "risk cannot be transferred (no insurance), risk cannot be absorbed (no public capacity), and risk cannot be adapted to (physical limits exceeded). That means no more mortgages, no new real estate development, no long-term investment, no financial stability. The financial sector as we know it ceases to function. And with it, capitalism as we know it ceases to be viable."

Gunther Thallinger
Allianz Group

As Gunther Thallinger of Allianz Insurance says, at 3°C "risk cannot be transferred (no insurance), risk cannot be absorbed (no public capacity), and risk cannot be adapted to (physical limits exceeded). That means no more mortgages, no new real estate development, no long-term investment, no financial stability. The financial sector as we know it ceases to function. And with it, capitalism as we know it ceases to be viable."

Yet Morgan Stanley sees 3°C as a business opportunity, predicting the growth rate for the $235 billion air conditioning market from 3% to 7% by 2030.

Whether due to market predictions or the well-funded and coordinated anti-ESG campaign, Wall Street banks are walking back their previous climate commitments.

This year, all six US members of Net Zero Banking Alliance, founded in 2021 to unite banks on climate action, left the alliance - even after it had weakened its goal from 1.5°C to 2°C of warming. Wells Fargo went the furthest, abandoning its 2030 and 2050 climate goals entirely.

One thing is clear: We can no longer rely on voluntary action by big banks to address the climate crisis. Nor have they responded to years of customer pressure.

As this year's Banking on Climate Chaos report says, "Banking regulators, supervisors, and policymakers must take measures to align financial activities with climate goals for economic stability in the face of the worsening climate emergency."

Unfortunately, US policymakers and regulators are not likely to require these banks to change anytime soon

What can you do?

Fortunately, you don't have to participate in a system that feeds global destruction. If you have a bank account in or credit card issued by one of the 10 US banks or another bank tracked by Banking on Climate Chaos, you can move your money.

Green America's Get A Better Bank map lists community development banks and credit unions across the United States. Wherever you are, you can find one near you.

These banks and credit unions have a mission to serve their communities - whether that's helping first-time home buyers obtain a mortgage, supporting local entrepreneurs to launch a new business, or financing a city park or community center.

Making the switch is easier than you think. Our 10 steps to Break Up with Your Megabank shows you how - and stories of people who have made the switch offer inspiration.

If you have already made the switch to a better bank or credit union, please tell us about it! Fill out our Share My Story form.

If you have not already broken up with your megabank, the time to make the switch is now. If it seems daunting, start with one account and then move the others over time. Allowing Wall Street banks to continue using your money to knowingly and deliberately destroy people and planet is not an option.

On the frontlines

Among the frontlines of fossil fuel financing is my home state of Ohio, the only state to lease its state parks and public lands for oil and gas extraction. So far thousands of acres of the state's largest and most iconic park, Salt Fork, have been leased for fracking, along with six wildlife areas: Valley Run, Zepernick, Keen, Leesville, Egypt Valley, and Jockey Hollow. In many cases these lands were donated or purchased with the understanding they would be protected in perpetuity. All 10 US megabanks finance the oil and gas companies given leases to frack Ohio public lands, including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Truist, PNC, US Bancorp, and Capital One.

Photo: Aftermath of the Groh frack pad explosion near Salt Fork State Park, Guernsey County, Ohio.