As the policy of “engagement” by investors is exposed as ineffective and “greenwash”, and no substitute for real “divestment”, a series of databases are developing so that funds and investors can see which companies are being excluded by others, or are contributing to the climate and biodiversity crises.
The Financial Exclusions Tracker (October 2023). Financial institutions have published an exclusion list of companies they will not finance and/or invest in. Reasons may vary from human rights violations to environmental impact and corruption. Funds can review investments as part of due diligence. The fact that a company has been excluded by one or more financial institutions indicates that these financial institutions consider the ESG risks (Environmental, Social and Governance) related to these companies too high to invest in or provide credit to them.
The Global Oil & Gas Exit List 2023 (GOGEL) database. GOGEL is the most comprehensive publicly available database on the oil & gas industry companies which account for 95% of global oil and gas production. It is tailored to the needs of financial institutions looking to phase out fossil fuels. GOGEL’s forward-looking data on companies’ expansion plans makes it easy to assess the credibility of transition strategies and enables its users to take the right steps to become responsible climate actors.
ACTION AID REPORT (September 2023) How the Finance Flows: The report looks at the banks fuelling the climate crisis, Action Aid tracked financial flows from banks to fossil fuels and industrial agriculture in the 134 countries of the Global South. Despite global banks’ public declarations that they are addressing climate change, the scale of their continued fossil fuel and industrial agriculture financing is staggering.
The State of Climate Action 2023 Report provides the world’s most comprehensive roadmap of how to close the gap in climate action across sectors to limit global warming to 1.5°C. It finds that recent progress toward 1.5°C-aligned targets isn’t happening at the pace and scale necessary and highlights where action must urgently accelerate this decade to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, scale up carbon removal and increase climate finance.
