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The statement critiques the Glasgow Financial Alliance on Net Zero (GFANZ) for a lack of evidence regarding its impact on member emission trajectories and calls on leaders Mark Carney and Michael Bloomberg to pressure members to stop financing fossil fuels.

One year after COP26, GFANZ has expanded to over 150 trillion USD in assets but faces criticism for uneven progress across its sectoral alliances and a weakened link to the Race to Zero campaign. The author contends that the alliance's reliance on voluntary carbon markets and vague targets—such as those from Vanguard and BMO Global Asset Manager—undermines its goals, urging leadership to 'name and shame' members who fail to align their portfolios with net zero emissions.

Reclaim Finance warns that sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) are frequently used as instruments for greenwashing, allowing highly destructive companies to label debt as sustainable despite making only marginal efforts toward climate transition. The organization cites HSBC's inclusion of bonds linked to the EACOP project as an example of this risk.

The document argues that the Paris financial center continues to support oil and gas expansion despite commitments to the 1.5°C goal. It systematically dismantles ten 'received ideas' used by banks, insurers, and asset managers to justify this support, citing IEA and IPCC data to show that no new fossil fuel projects are compatible with net-zero pathways. The briefing highlights that 'transition' claims by oil majors are often unsupported by investment data and that engagement without the threat of exclusion is ineffective.

The briefing challenges the narrative of natural gas as a climate solution, asserting that a global gas-based electricity system would be as harmful as one based on coal due to value chain emissions and methane's potency. It distinguishes between 'baseload' and 'peak' power, arguing that baseload plants are becoming obsolete as renewable penetration increases. While open-cycle gas turbines (OCGT) can provide necessary short-term flexibility to handle demand peaks, combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGT) lack the required agility and commercial viability in renewable-heavy grids. For long-term seasonal flexibility, the document cites IEA scenarios suggesting existing thermal plants and pumped-storage hydropower are sufficient, rendering new gas plants unnecessary. Reclaim Finance calls for financial actors to immediately cease all financial services supporting gas expansion, including new fields and LNG export terminals.

The 2022 Green Central Banking Scorecard evaluates G20 monetary and prudential authorities, finding that most remain insufficiently ambitious in mitigating climate risks. While research and advocacy have improved, the report argues that central banks prioritize analysis over action and are hindered by a commitment to 'market neutrality' and flawed taxonomies. The Banque de France is the top-ranked institution, while Saudi Arabia is the lowest. The report recommends implementing green lending schemes, increasing capital requirements for fossil fuel exposures, and adopting a 'double materiality' framework to account for the financial sector's impact on the environment.

The European Central Bank's decision to raise interest rates to combat inflation may inadvertently obstruct the clean energy transition by increasing the cost of capital. The author proposes a green lending facility, specifically targeting building renovation, to shield essential climate investments from tightening financing conditions.

The author warns that the European Central Bank's (ECB) consecutive interest rate hikes and balance sheet reductions could obstruct the energy transition. To mitigate this, the ECB is urged to implement a 'green' lending mechanism to shield investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy, specifically starting with building renovations, from rising financing costs.

Reclaim Finance expresses skepticism regarding Climate Finance Day 2022, arguing that major French banks and insurers are failing to align with scientific recommendations to end oil and gas expansion. While 15 investors have adopted exclusion policies, heavyweights like BNP Paribas and AXA are criticized for relying on decarbonization targets or limited exclusions rather than full exits from new fossil fuel projects.

The report finds that four major German asset managers, managing over €2.3 trillion, continue to invest in companies with significant fossil fuel expansion plans, holding nearly US$ 13 billion in the world's worst polluters as of September 2022 without adequate policies to limit this support.

The report reveals that four major German asset managers, collectively managing over 2.3 trillion euros, continue to invest in companies expanding coal, oil, and gas production, holding nearly 13 billion USD in the world's worst polluters as of September 2022 without adequate policies to limit this support.

Reclaim Finance argues that increasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal capacity will not solve Europe's energy crisis, asserting that the crisis stems from fossil fuel dependence. The organization criticizes BlackRock CEO Larry Fink for promoting short-term profits over sustainable solutions and calls on European institutional investors to pressure BlackRock to end its unrestricted investments in coal and adopt stronger decarbonization targets.

Reclaim Finance argues that increasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports and coal use will not solve Europe's energy crisis, asserting that the crisis stems from fossil fuel dependence. The organization criticizes BlackRock for investing in new coal projects and for setting insufficient decarbonization targets, calling on European institutional investors to pressure the asset manager to align with climate goals.

The report examines the Ichthys LNG project in Australia, highlighting its high carbon intensity and the risks its expansion poses to climate targets and biodiversity. It identifies numerous global insurers that provided coverage for the project's initial construction and argues that continuing such support, particularly for the planned 2C expansion, contradicts the net-zero pledges of many of these firms.

The 2022 Scorecard finds that while insurance for new coal power plants outside China has largely dried up, the industry is only beginning to shift away from oil and gas. Most of the 30 assessed insurers scored poorly on oil and gas policies (1.1/10) compared to coal (3.3/10). The report identifies Allianz as a leader in underwriting policies and SCOR as a leader in divestment, while naming Berkshire Hathaway, Everest Re, PICC, Sinosure, and Starr as laggards. It also criticizes the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) for failing to comply with UN Race to Zero requirements to phase out unabated fossil fuels.

The document warns against a surge of new LNG terminal projects in Europe triggered by the energy crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It argues these projects will not solve short-term energy shortages due to construction delays and market constraints, while risking long-term 'carbon lock-in' and increased methane emissions. The author specifically criticizes the opacity of the Le Havre floating terminal project and calls on private financial institutions, including GFANZ members, to implement exclusions for LNG infrastructure to align with 1.5°C warming targets.

The document warns against the proliferation of LNG import terminals in Europe, arguing they will not solve the immediate energy crisis and will create long-term fossil fuel dependency. It calls on private financial institutions to deny funding for these projects to prevent carbon lock-in and mitigate methane emissions.

The European Central Bank (ECB) introduced criteria on September 19, 2022, to decarbonize its corporate asset purchases starting October 1, but Reclaim Finance contends these measures are inadequate. The ECB's scoring grid, based on climate reporting and targets, allows for 'tilting' rather than exclusion, meaning fossil fuel developers and massive emitters can still be included in purchase programs. The document highlights a lack of transparency regarding Paris Agreement benchmarks and compares the ECB's approach to a similar, unsuccessful methodology used by the Bank of England in 2021. The author concludes that the ECB is prioritizing market neutrality over carbon neutrality and failing to align its actions with EU climate goals.

The statement calls on reinsurers Munich Re and SCOR to follow the lead of Swiss Re and Hannover Re by ending the underwriting of risks linked to oil and gas production expansion, citing the increase in extreme climatic events in 2022.

The statement highlights the financial impact of climate-driven natural disasters on European reinsurers and urges SCOR and Munich Re to align with Swiss Re and Hannover Re by ending reinsurance for new oil and gas production projects.