L'art de noyer le poisson : nous répondons à BNP Paribas

Reclaim Finance disputes BNP Paribas' claims that its 2020 fossil fuel financing was an exceptional response to the Covid-19 crisis or supported companies in transition. The organization highlights that BNP Paribas was the largest European and fourth largest global financier of fossil fuels in 2020, with $41 billion in funding, and argues that the bank's sector policies fail to restrict funding to oil and gas majors despite their lack of alignment with the Paris Agreement.

• BNP Paribas provided $41 billion in fossil fuel financing in 2020, making it the largest European and fourth largest global financier of the industry. The bank saw the largest absolute increase in international fossil fuel support between 2019 and 2020.
• Reclaim Finance rejects the bank's claim that 2020 funding was an exceptional response to the Covid-19 pandemic, noting that fossil fuel financing had already increased by 75% between 2018 and 2019, and that other major banks like Natixis (-18%) and Deutsche Bank (-17%) reduced their funding in 2020.
• The document argues that BNP Paribas' sector policies are ineffective against oil and gas majors because these companies are diversified enough to stay below exclusion thresholds, even while operating in non-conventional sectors. For example, the bank provided $13 billion in 2020 to BP and Chevron, major actors in shale oil and gas.
• Reclaim Finance disputes the claim that financed companies have made a 'critical turn' toward energy transition, citing a Climate Action 100+ analysis (which included BNP Paribas Asset Management) stating that no major European oil and gas company meets the minimum requirements for a credible climate strategy.
• The bank's claim of having a financed electricity mix with lower carbon intensity than the global average is described as misleading, as it is largely a result of France's historical reliance on nuclear energy and clients like EDF rather than a specific policy choice by the bank.

APA

admin (2021). L'art de noyer le poisson : nous répondons à BNP Paribas. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/2021/03/25/lart-de-noyer-le-poisson-nous-repondons-a-bnp-paribas/

Chicago

admin. L'art de noyer le poisson : nous répondons à BNP Paribas. Reclaim Finance, 2021. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/2021/03/25/lart-de-noyer-le-poisson-nous-repondons-a-bnp-paribas/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=admin |title=L'art de noyer le poisson : nous répondons à BNP Paribas |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=25 March 2021 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/2021/03/25/lart-de-noyer-le-poisson-nous-repondons-a-bnp-paribas/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{admin2021lart, author = {admin}, title = {{L'art de noyer le poisson : nous répondons à BNP Paribas}}, publisher = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/2021/03/25/lart-de-noyer-le-poisson-nous-repondons-a-bnp-paribas/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }