ING phases out oil and gas financing
Dutch banking group ING has halted dedicated finance for new oil and gas fields that were approved by their operator after December 31, 2021, the company said on March 23.
ING says it will continue to offer financing to "clients active in keeping oil and gas flowing", to help keep energy secure and affordable throughout the low-carbon transition. Existing oil and gas clients face a financing cut of 12%to around €3.5bn ($3.9bn) by 2025, according to Reuters.
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The move forms part of ING's policy of supporting the International Energy Agency's 2050 net-zero emissions roadmap.
As a leading investment bank, ING is committed to redeploying resources to clean energy and infrastructure to prompt a decline in demand for fossil fuels. It says existing upstream oil and gas capacity should be sufficient to meet declining demand, meaning "no new fields should be needed."
"The best way to reduce dependency on fossil fuels is to make sure there are enough affordable green alternatives available," said ING's lead for energy sector investments Michiel de Haan. "These steps support that and show we're serious about putting our financing to facilitate the energy transition."
Renewables will get a boost from ING's updated investment policy. It plans to increase financing of renewable energy projects by 50% before the end of 2025. Around 60% of ING's current financing for power generation assets goes to renewable energy, it said.