Author Lindsey WhiteRobert Clark
A polar bear roams the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, where several large banks have ceased
funding new oil and gas exploration.
Source: P. de Graaf /Moment via Getty Images
An Alaskan wildlife refuge is at the center of an escalating, highly politicized sustainability debate that has pulled in big banks, federal regulators, Congress, climate activists, the oil-and-gas industry and the local Native community.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency introduced a polarizing proposal that would require big banks to reverse course on lending policies introduced to combat climate change. With just three weeks to go before the comment deadline closes, the banking industry and sustainability community are locked in battle with the oil-and-gas industry and an outgoing Republican administration that has made moves to dismantle policies seen as friendly to the environmental, social and gove