THE WORST FOSSIL FUEL BONDS IN 2023

Reclaim Finance analyzed 40 bond packages issued by 13 fossil fuel companies in 2023, totaling US$45 billion, to expose the financial institutions facilitating fossil fuel expansion. The report highlights a significant policy gap where banks and asset managers continue to provide corporate-level financing and bond structuring for oil and gas developers despite public net zero commitments. It specifically notes that some fossil fuel bonds have been included in ESG funds and marketed as 'sustainability-linked bonds'.

• There is evidence of greenwashing in the bond market, where bonds from fossil fuel entities—such as Greensaif Pipelines (linked to Saudi Aramco)—have been placed in ESG funds managed by UBS Asset Management, Legal & General Investment Management, and HSBC Asset Management, or marketed as 'sustainability-linked bonds' in the case of Eni.
• A significant policy loophole exists in the banking sector: while some banks have restricted project-level financing for fossil fuels, the vast majority of policies ignore financial services for general corporate purposes, including bond structuring.
• The Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) guidelines currently allow a loophole where members are not required to include underwriting-related capital markets activities in their decarbonization targets; as of April 2023, only eight out of 50 large NZBA members with targets included these activities.
• BNP Paribas is highlighted as a major financier of fossil fuel expansion that continues to structure bonds for companies like BP, Eni, and Greensaif Pipelines (Saudi Aramco) because its corporate-level criteria do not exclude integrated oil and gas companies.

APA

Cuvelier, L., Lentilhac, M., Louvel, Y., Cooper, R., & Miomandre, L. (2023). THE WORST FOSSIL FUEL BONDS IN 2023. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/16112023-The-worst-fossil-fuel-bonds-in-2023.pdf

Chicago

Cuvelier, Lara, Maude Lentilhac, Yann Louvel, Ryan Cooper, and Léa Miomandre. THE WORST FOSSIL FUEL BONDS IN 2023. Reclaim Finance, 2023. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/16112023-The-worst-fossil-fuel-bonds-in-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cuvelier |first1=Lara |last2=Lentilhac |first2=Maude |last3=Louvel |first3=Yann |last4=Cooper |first4=Ryan |last5=Miomandre |first5=Léa |title=THE WORST FOSSIL FUEL BONDS IN 2023 |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=November 2023 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/16112023-The-worst-fossil-fuel-bonds-in-2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cuvelier2023worst, author = {Cuvelier, Lara and Lentilhac, Maude and Louvel, Yann and Cooper, Ryan and Miomandre, Léa}, title = {{THE WORST FOSSIL FUEL BONDS IN 2023}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/16112023-The-worst-fossil-fuel-bonds-in-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }