Quantitative easing and climate: The ECB’s dirty secret

The report analyzes the ECB's corporate asset purchase programs (CSPP and PEPP), finding that they provide significant financial support to companies active in coal, oil, and gas. It criticizes the ECB's lack of transparency regarding asset values and argues that the principle of 'market neutrality' creates an anti-climate bias by favoring carbon-intensive sectors. The author recommends that the ECB exclude fossil fuel companies without phase-out plans and align its monetary policy with the 1.5°C trajectory of the Paris Agreement.

• Among the ten coal-active corporations financed by the ECB, nine lack a closure schedule for coal assets that is compatible with a 1.5°C trajectory and the Paris Agreement. The total installed coal power capacity for these companies is 66,000 MW, with another 1,100 MW planned for new projects.
• The ECB holds assets in major oil and gas companies, such as Shell, Total, and Eni, despite their plans to increase production. Specifically, Shell and Total planned to increase oil and gas production by 38% and 12% respectively between 2018 and 2030.
• The ECB's portfolio is heavily weighted toward high-carbon sectors. According to cited data, 63% of assets bought under the CSPP belong to corporations with high greenhouse gas emissions, with fossil fuels accounting for 13.5%, carbon-intensive transports 18%, energy-intensive sectors 16%, and utilities 15.3%.
• The report argues that the ECB's 'market neutrality' principle is not climate-neutral and instead reinforces a fossil fuel-dependent economy, creating an 'anti-climate bias' because the portfolio is more carbon-intensive than the general market.
• The ECB's asset purchases are characterized by a lack of transparency; while lists of holdings are published, the bank does not disclose the value of each asset, making it impossible to determine the exact social or environmental impact of the purchases.
• The ECB's financing extends to other polluting and ethically contentious sectors, including the air sector (airlines, airports, and Airbus) and arms manufacturers such as Dassault Systèmes and Thalès.

APA

Schreiber, P. (2020). Quantitative easing and climate: The ECB’s dirty secret. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Report-Quantitative-easing-the-ECBs-dirty-secret-RF.pdf

Chicago

Schreiber, Paul. Quantitative easing and climate: The ECB’s dirty secret. Reclaim Finance, 2020. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Report-Quantitative-easing-the-ECBs-dirty-secret-RF.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Schreiber |first1=Paul |title=Quantitative easing and climate: The ECB’s dirty secret |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=18 May 2020 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Report-Quantitative-easing-the-ECBs-dirty-secret-RF.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{schreiber2020quantitative, author = {Schreiber, Paul}, title = {{Quantitative easing and climate: The ECB’s dirty secret}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2020}, month = may, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Report-Quantitative-easing-the-ECBs-dirty-secret-RF.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }