February, 24 2021, 11:00pm EDT

Groundbreaking Research Reveals Top Financiers of the Global Coal Industry
Commercial banks providing more money to the coal industry since the Paris AgreementJapanese banks are top lenders, while China, Japan and India account for 70% of underwriting to coal companiesUS investors hold 58% of institutional investments in the coal industry, with Japan in second place
Global
Today, Urgewald and a group of more than 25 civil society organizations, including Reclaim Finance, Rainforest Action Network, and 350.org, published groundbreaking research on the financiers and investors behind the global coal industry.
The Global Coal Exit List (GCEL) shows that, by January 2021, 4,478 institutional investors held investments totaling US$ 1.03 trillion in companies operating along the thermal coal value chain world wide. Among the investors covered by the research are pension funds, mutual funds, asset managers, insurance companies, commercial banks, sovereign wealth funds and other types of institutional investors.
"In past years, the scope of our financial research was limited to around 200 coal plant developers. Our new research, however, analyzes financial flows to all 934 companies on the Global Coal Exit List (GCEL). This is the first time anyone has attempted to analyze commercial banks' and institutional investors' exposure to the entire coal industry," says Katrin Ganswindt, head of financial research at Urgewald.
Top Institutional Investors in the Coal Industry
The world's largest institutional investor in the coal industry is the US mutual fund company Vanguard, with holdings of almost US$ 86 billion. It is closely followed by BlackRock, which holds investments of over US$ 84 billion. Together, these two investment giants account for 17% of institutional investments in the global coal industry.
Based on their size, BlackRock and Vanguard's coal investments are in a class of their own, but they are also representative of a much bigger problem. US investors are the single largest provider of institutional investment to companies on the Global Coal Exit List. With shares and bonds in value of US$ 604 billion, US investors collectively account for 59% of institutional investments in the global coal industry.
With holdings of US$ 81 billion, investors from Japan account for the second highest share of institutional investments in the coal industry. Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund alone holds bonds and shares in value of US$ 30 billion in companies listed on the GCEL. The third largest group are UK investors, whose collective holdings in the coal industry amount to US$ 47 billion.
"While the UK government recently announced that it will end public financing for overseas fossil fuel projects in 2021, most UK institutional investors have not even begun to expel coal from their portfolios. Unless they do their homework soon, the UK-hosted COP 26 will become a big embarrassment for these institutions," states Katrin Ganswindt.
The Biggest Lenders to the Coal Industry
Urgewald's research identified 380 commercial banks that provided loans totaling US$ 316 billion to the coal industry over the past 2 years. The top 3 lenders are the Japanese banks Mizuho (US$ 22 billion), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation(US$ 21 billion) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (US$ 18 billion). The 4th and 5th largest lenders to the coal industry are Citigroup (US$ 14 billion) and Barclays (US$ 13 billion).
"The coal policies adopted by Japanese banks are among the weakest in the world. They only cover a small portion of banks' lending and do not rule out corporate loans or underwriting for companies that are still building new coal plants in Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines and elsewhere. Japan's banks must stop pouring fuel on the fire and finally adopt comprehensive coal exclusion policies," says Eri Watanabe from 350.org Japan.
A regional breakdown of lenders from different countries shows that Japanese banks collectively provided US$ 75 billion in loans to the coal industry from October 2018 to October 2020. Commercial banks from Japanese banks alone accounted for 24% of total lending to companies on the Global Coal Exit List over the past two years. In total, Asian banks accounted for 39% of total lending.
The Biggest Underwriters of the Coal Industry
Over the same time period, 427 commercial banks channeled over US$ 810 billionto companies on the Global Coal Exit List through underwriting. The world's top 5 underwriters are all Chinese financial institutions.
ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China), the world's biggest bank, is the top underwriter, with almost US$ 37 million, and also figures in the top 30 list of lenders, with US$ 3 million. ICBC's record on coal financing is one of the worst among the largest banks in the world, and they are involved in controversial coal projects all over the globe, such as the Sengwa power station in Zimbabwe, Hunutlu power station in Turkey, Bengkulu Coal Power in Indonesia and many more.
"Facing the prospect of a global recession, investment in coal power infrastructure will become even riskier for borrowing countries and lenders. While the world is embracing the benefits of clean and affordable renewable energy, coal projects supported will lock recipient countries into dirty, dangerous and expensive fossil fuel infrastructure that is outdated. Instead, renewable energy investments can be a major force in economic recovery, generating decent returns on investment while boosting employment opportunities. It's time for ICBC to correctly assess the risks implicated in their investments and stop financing coal projects," says Yossi Cadan, Global Finance Campaign Manager at 350.org.
While Chinese banks account for less than 6% of total lending to the coal industry, they account for 58% of underwriting. Through their underwriting, Chinese banks channeled US$ 467 billion to the coal industry over the past two years. Next in line are US banks (US$ 105 billion), Japanese banks (US$ 59 billion), Indian banks (US$ 36 billion) and UK banks (US$ 35 billion). Together, banks from these 5 countries account for 87% of total underwriting for the coal industry, with China, Japan and India accounting for 70%.
Commercial Banks' Support for the Coal Industry has Increased since Paris
The research also examined the development of banks' lending and underwriting for the coal industry since January 2016. While direct lending for coal companies spiked in 2017, subsequent years show a downward trend in lending volumes. Underwriting of coal industry shares and bonds, however, has grown steadily since 2016. The alarming result of this analysis is that commercial banks are channeling more money to the coal industry than in 2016, the year after the Paris Climate Agreement was signed.
In 2016, banks provided US$ 491 billion through lending and underwriting to companies listed on the GCEL. By 2019, this amount had grown to US$ 543 billion, an increase of over 11%.
What needs to be done?
Ending the era of coal means ending the era of coal finance and investment. But the time to accomplish this task is quickly running out.
"While coal demand is falling in the United States and Europe, coal use is growing in Asia. Japan and China have both set lofty net-zero goals and they must meet them through a managed and determined phase out of fossil fuels. Banks in Japan and China must support their countries' climate goals by withdrawing coal investments not just within their country but also abroad as that is where the vast majority of their investments are directed. This is the only way to prevent an unmitigated climate disaster that will affect communities in Asia and globally. I write this as another typhoon bears down on the Philippines, where I live. The climate disaster is now, it is not in the net-zero future," says Chuck Baclagon, 350 Asia Finance Campaigner.
"What we need are comprehensive, immediate coal exit policies. Insurers such as AXA, banks like Credit Mutuel, UniCredit and Desjardins or asset managers like Ostrum have already shown what must be done by excluding most of the companies on the Global Coal Exit List from their portfolios. Now is the time for the finance industry to act. A speedy exit from coal finance and investment is not only do-able and desirable, it is a question of survival," says Yann Louvel, policy analyst for the NGO Reclaim Finance.
350 is building a future that's just, prosperous, equitable and safe from the effects of the climate crisis. We're an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all.
LATEST NEWS
AOC Warns of 'Chaos Vibes' as Far-Right GOP Agitates to Oust McCarthy, Shut Down Government
U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman told the Republican House speaker that "if you don't stand up to this harmful element of your own party, you will allow them to destroy you and us in the process."
Sep 12, 2023
As far-right Congressman Matt Gaetz on Tuesday signaled that he wasn't impressed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's bid to appease MAGA Republicans by launching an impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Joe Biden, progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggested that GOP extremist lawmakers appear most interested in causing chaos.
"So let me get this straight: Republicans are threatening to remove their own speaker, impeach the president, and shut down the government on September 30th—disrupting everyday people's paychecks and general public operations," Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said on social media. "For what? I don't think even they know. Chaos vibes."
The congresswoman's comments came alongside a video of Gaetz (R-Fla.), a member of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, telling McCarthy (R-Calif.) on the House floor: "I rise today to serve notice—Mr. Speaker you are out of compliance with the agreement that allowed you to assume this role. The path forward for the House of Representatives is to either bring you into immediate total compliance or remove you."
It took 15 rounds of voting for McCarthy to be elected speaker—and that only came after he agreed to various far-right demands, including a rule allowing a sole member of the chamber to bring a "motion to vacate" forcing a vote on his removal, which just requires a simple majority.
As USA Todayreported:
Gaetz said on the House floor Tuesday that McCarthy did not put the House in a position to succeed as the government approaches a looming September 30 shutdown date and still needs to pass 11 appropriations bills.
The Florida lawmaker called on McCarthy to hold votes on individual spending bills instead of a continuing resolution, a short-term extension GOP leadership has been considering to avert a shutdown. Gaetz said he will move to oust the speaker if a vote is held on the stopgap measure.
"September 30 is rapidly approaching and you have not put us in a position to succeed. There is no way to pass all the individual appropriations bills now and it's not like we didn't know when September 30 was going to show up on the calendar," he said.
As for the McCarthy kicking off House members' return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday by directing the Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees to launch an impeachment inquiry into Biden related to his son's business dealings and legal issues—despite the lack of any proof of wrongdoing by the president—Gaetz said, "This is a baby step following weeks of pressure from House conservatives to do more."
Ocasio-Cortez was not the only progressive to respond on social media to Gaetz's remarks. In a lengthy post on X, formerly Twitter, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) said: "Holy cow. All HELL is breaking loose on the floor of the House. Matt Gaetz is threatening to launch a 'mutiny' against Kevin McCarthy and oust him from power. To the speaker of the House: This is what you created."
"You are the worst kind of coward and now you reap what you sow," Bowman told McCarthy. The congressman charged that the speaker has kowtowed to the demands of "the most EXTREMIST zealots" in the Republican Party, who "have lied, intimidated, and strong-armed their dangerous political ends," which has come "at the cost of our institutions and democracy."
"Instead of leadership, you have shown nothing but cowardice," he added in his message to McCarthy. "You care about nothing except your own power. You might be speaker today, but if you don't stand up to this harmful element of your own party, you will allow them to destroy you and us in the process. Mr. Speaker, grow a backbone. Because until then, you do not SPEAK for anyone."
Other members of Congress on Tuesday blasted the impeachment inquiry, which many critics have called an attempt to harm Biden's chances of being reelected next year and help Trump, who is the GOP's 2024 front-runner, despite facing four criminal cases and arguments that inciting the January 6, 2021 insurrection constitutionally disqualifies him from holding office again.
Trump, the first U.S. president to ever be impeached twice, "has been weighing in behind the scenes in support of the House GOP push to impeach" Biden, according toPolitico. In addition to weekly conversations with House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), the first member of Republican leadership to back impeachment, the ex-president "had dinner at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), an ally of Trump and McCarthy."
Greene, who said last month that "I will not vote to fund the government unless we have passed an impeachment inquiry," welcomed McCarthy's move on Tuesday to launch the Biden probe without holding a vote. She also got into an online spat with Gaetz about which of them has been pushing harder for an impeachment inquiry targeting the president.
In a series of early Tuesday posts on X, Ian Sams, the White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations, said that "McCarthy is being told by Marjorie Taylor Greene to do impeachment, or else she'll shut down the government."
"Opening impeachment despite zero evidence of wrongdoing by POTUS is simply red meat for the extreme right-wing so they can keep baselessly attacking him," Sams added, pointing to previous comments from Gaetz and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.). "They admit it."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Corporate Media Will Always Side With CEOs': Sanders Rips Coverage of Looming UAW Strike
"It is the totally reasonable demand that autoworkers, who have made enormous financial sacrifices over the past 40 years, finally receive a fair share of the record-breaking profits their labor has generated," he said.
Sep 12, 2023
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday blasted corporate media coverage of United Auto Workers' contract demands and looming strike, echoing a video released last week by the UAW amid negotiations with vehicle manufacturers Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.
A short list of media conglomerate control the vast majority "of what the American people see, hear, and read," and that is clearly on display with the labor conflict between the union and the "Big Three," Sanders (I-Vt.) argued in a statement, highlighting that "the major reasons as to why autoworkers might go out on strike have been rarely, if ever, the focus of the corporate media's coverage."
"In the first half of 2023, the Big Three automakers made a combined $23 billion in profits—up 80% from the same time period last year," Sanders noted. "But if you've watched any corporate news coverage of the pending strike by 150,000 autoworkers, you've heard more about the strikes' potential negative effects on the economy and a litany of excuses why very well-compensated CEOs just can't make a fair deal."
The chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee continued:
You won't hear that last year the CEO of General Motors raked in about $29 million in total compensation, the CEO of Ford made approximately $21 million, and the CEO of Stellantis pocketed over $25 million. In fact, over the last four years pay for those CEOs has increased by more than 40%.
You won't hear that over the past decade these same companies made some $250 billion in profits in North America alone.
You won't hear that the average starting wage at the Big Three today is around $17 an hour—less than a number of nonunion auto plants around the country—and that the top wage is $32.32 an hour.
You won't hear that, unbelievably, over the last 20 years, the average wage for American autoworkers has decreased by 30% after adjusting for inflation.
You won't hear that autoworkers at the Big Three are earning less today than they did 15 years ago.
"Of course, none of this is new. The corporate media will always side with CEOs and shareholders," he added. "Despite what you might hear in the corporate media in the coming days, what the UAW is fighting for is not radical. It is the totally reasonable demand that autoworkers, who have made enormous financial sacrifices over the past 40 years, finally receive a fair share of the record-breaking profits their labor has generated."
Along with his statement calling out the corporate media, Sanders on Tuesday published an opinion piece in The Guardian urging Americans to "stand in solidarity with the UAW and create an economy that works for all, not just the privileged few."
In the event of a strike later this week, "the UAW members will be fighting not only for themselves but against a corporate culture of arrogance, cruelty, and selfishness causing massive and unnecessary pain for the majority of working families throughout the country," the senator stressed. "Their fight against corporate greed is our fight. Their victory will resonate all across the economy, impact millions of workers from coast to coast and help create a more just and equitable economy."
Sanders' remarks follow a September 7 video in which UAW president Shawn Fain spends about four minutes debunking a recent "NBC Nightly News" story, calling out corporate media coverage more broadly, and sharing some facts about the industry.
"You don't see big, splashy nightly news segments on how consumers will be impacted by companies choosing to spend billions on executive salaries, and stock buybacks, and special dividends," Fein said. "You only hear these concerns when the working class stands up and demands a fair share of the value we produce."
"But the autoworkers and working people of this country know what's really going on. We live it," he explained. "We know firsthand what it's like not to be able to afford the cars we produce. We know what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck while the companies we work for make out like bandits. We know what it's like for our communities to be decimated and our families to be torn apart by plant closures."
The UAW announced last month that 97% of participating members at "Big Three" voted to authorize a strike if a contract deal isn't reached by September 14.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Volunteers Save Florida Abortion Clinic, Raising Nearly $200K to Pay 'Unjust' Fines
"We've never been so proud to be part of this movement and community," said SWAN of Orlando.
Sep 12, 2023
Volunteers who regularly help protect abortion clinic patients in Florida from crowds of pro-forced pregnancy protesters were able to deliver a check for $193,000 to Center of Orlando for Women on Tuesday, helping the reproductive healthcare center pay state fines that threatened to bankrupt it.
Volunteers with Stand With Abortion Now (SWAN) of Orlando raised the money in less than two weeks, after the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) accused the clinic of violating the state's 24-hour waiting period for people seeking abortion care.
The law requires people to have two medical appointments 24 hours apart in order to obtain an abortion, and the clinic has maintained it had attempted to contact the AHCA to find out when the measure went into effect—but instead of providing the information the agency ordered the facility to pay $1,000 each for 193 alleged violations.
"We got to hand over $193,000 to our clinic today to save them from unjust AHCA fines meant to shut them down!" said SWAN on social media. "We've never been so proud to be part of this movement and community."
The makers of the podcast "Repros Fight Back" called SWAN's crowdfunding effort "a powerful display of love, community, and solidarity" that will keep one of Orlando's last abortion clinics open.
The clinic escorts delivered the funds to the facility days after the state's right-wing Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case challenging Florida's 15-week abortion ban. If the court does not overturn the law, a six-week abortion ban signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis—who is also running for the GOP's presidential nomination—will go into effect.
SWAN volunteers rallied outside the state Supreme Court last week during the hearing.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular
Independent, nonprofit journalism needs your help.
Please Pitch In
Today!
Today!