Pledges and solutions proposed by world leaders to address the climate and biodiversity crisis at the United Nations climate summit, COP26, and biodiversity conference, COP15, are not going to be enough, according to some Indigenous leaders in Peru and Ecuador. A particular proposal that has been a target of criticism by Indigenous peoples and local […]
Are Swiss banks really chopping environmental devastation from trade financing?
Construction of an oil pipeline through an area of cloud forest: The Oleoducto Crudo Pesado pipeline, completed in October 2003, transports between 390,000 and 450,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the from the Ecuadorian Amazonian to Esmeraldas on the coast. Dr Morley Read
As awareness of the Amazon rainforest’s role in balancing the global climate builds, banks financing Switzerland’s important commodity trading sector are starting to re-evaluate the environmental impact of their business.
This content was published on March 15, 2021 - 09:00
March 15, 2021 - 09:00
Paula Dupraz-Dobias in Geneva
In February, BNP Paribas, once the world’s leading trade finance provider, announced it would no longer financeExternal link companies that produce or trade beef and soybeans originating from land cleared in the Amazon after 2008.
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Major European Lenders Back Out of Oil Trade in Ecuadorian Amazon
An oil pipeline in the Amazon Sacred Headwaters region. Ivan Castaneira/Stand.earth
Three major European banks Credit Suisse, ING, and BNP Paribas have announced they will no longer finance the trade of oil extracted from the Amazon Sacred Headwaters region in Ecuador. The decision is seen as a major victory for environmental and Indigenous rights activists, who campaigned heavily to stop the international financing of fossil fuel development in the region, Reuters reported.
Together, Credit Suisse, ING, and BNP Paribas are responsible for financing the trade of $5.5 billion of Amazon-sourced oil to the United States since 2009.