SPREADING THE FOSSIL FUEL PANDEMIC

The report analyzes the European Central Bank's (ECB) corporate asset purchases during the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically under the Corporate Sector Purchase Program (CSPP) and the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program (PEPP). It finds that the ECB increased its holdings of bonds from five oil and gas majors—Shell, TotalEnergies, Repsol, Eni, and OMV—between April 2020 and September 2021. The author argues that these companies' investment plans are incompatible with 1.5C or 2C warming limits, as they continue to expand fossil fuel production and invest in liquified natural gas (LNG) and unconventional sources. The report criticizes the ECB's July 2021 climate roadmap for being 'dangerously imprecise' and for delaying the implementation of climate criteria for asset purchases until 2023. It concludes that the ECB must immediately exclude fossil fuel developers from its corporate purchases and collateral framework to avoid supporting 'stranded' assets and systemic climate risk.

• Between March 2020 and September 2021, the ECB's corporate holdings increased by approximately 64% (128.7 billion euros), with growth driven by the Corporate Sector Purchase Program (CSPP), which grew by 95 billion euros, and the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program (PEPP), which added 33.7 billion euros in corporate bonds.
• The ECB increased its support for five oil and gas majors—Shell, TotalEnergies, Repsol, Eni, and OMV—during the pandemic. Between April 17, 2020, and September 3, 2021, the number of bonds held from these companies rose from 68 to 79, a 16.2% increase.
• TotalEnergies and Eni saw the largest percentage increases in bonds held by the ECB, with TotalEnergies increasing by 22.2% (four bonds) and Eni by 20% (three bonds).

APA

Schreiber, P. (2021). SPREADING THE FOSSIL FUEL PANDEMIC. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Report-Spreading-the-Fossil-Fuel-Pandemic-ECB-QE.pdf

Chicago

Schreiber, Paul. SPREADING THE FOSSIL FUEL PANDEMIC. Reclaim Finance, 2021. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Report-Spreading-the-Fossil-Fuel-Pandemic-ECB-QE.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Schreiber |first1=Paul |title=SPREADING THE FOSSIL FUEL PANDEMIC |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=October 2021 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Report-Spreading-the-Fossil-Fuel-Pandemic-ECB-QE.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{schreiber2021spreading, author = {Schreiber, Paul}, title = {{SPREADING THE FOSSIL FUEL PANDEMIC}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Report-Spreading-the-Fossil-Fuel-Pandemic-ECB-QE.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }