Stand.earth Climate Finance experts on the 2026 Banking on Climate Chaos report: Fossil fuel financing increase coupled with climate policy rollbacks is concerning

GLOBAL – The 2026 Banking on Climate Chaos report, published today, reveals that Canadian banks stand out as playing an outsized role in financing fossil fuel expansion. Financing for oil and gas developers among five Canadian banks—Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, Toronto-Dominion Bank, CIBC and BMO—increased by over 27% in 2025, up to nearly $70 billion. Although Canada is home to just 0.5% of the world’s population, Canadian banks accounted for 11.8% of global fossil fuel financing. Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank and Toronto Dominion Bank ranked among the world’s top twelve fossil fuel financiers between 2021 and 2025, collectively providing over $437 billion in fossil fuel financing over that period. 

The findings reflect a broader global trend. The report finds that the top 65 global banks provided $906 billion in financing to fossil fuel companies in 2025, an almost 8% increase from the previous year. Financing for companies expanding oil, gas and coal infrastructure grew 27%, reaching $508 billion, while just twelve banks accounted for nearly 39% of all fossil fuel financing globally.

The report also highlights a growing concentration of fossil fuel financing among lenders and borrowers. In 2025, 15% of bank financing was committed to just ten fossil fuel companies, while three oil and gas companies — Venture Global, Enbridge, and Energy Transfer — alone received $77 billion, representing 6.2% of all global fossil fuel financing. LNG companies are among the largest recipients of bank financing, with Venture Global emerging as the world’s top fossil fuel borrower in 2025. As fewer banks and companies control a larger share of fossil fuel financing, they gain greater influence over the future of the global energy system, increasing risks for people and economies.

The increase in fossil fuel financing has coincided with a broader retreat from climate commitments across the banking sector. Several major banks, particularly in North America, weakened climate policies and exited net-zero initiatives in recent years. In Canada, RBC and Scotiabank dropped their 2030 decarbonization targets, and Scotiabank canceled its 2050 net-zero target. Spanish bank Santander similarly weakened climate commitments and doubled its fossil debt financing in 2025 compared to 2021.

At the same time, the report demonstrates that stronger policies with follow-through can drive meaningful reduction in fossil fuel financing. While some banks rolled back climate ambition, others showed that a different path is possible: French bank BNP Paribas, for example, reduced its fossil fuel financing by nearly 28% in 2025.

As one of the endorsing organizations of the report, climate finance experts with Stand.earth offered the following statements:

Richard Brooks, Stand.earth Climate Finance Director:

“At a time when the world urgently needs banks to finance the transition away from fossil fuels, many of the largest institutions remain concentrated in the fuels of the past. Canadian banks are among the worst offenders, continuing to pour billions into oil and gas expansion while weakening their climate commitments. This is detrimental to the Canadian economy, harmful to Canadian tax-payers and out of line with our global responsibilities.”  

Martyna Dominiak, Stand.earth Senior Climate Finance Campaigner:

“The report paints a picture of the world where an increasingly small group of bankers with a handful of oil CEOs decide about our future and strike deals that lock us in oil and gas expansion that we don’t need, but we’re expected to pay for with higher energy bills. Banks still have time to reverse this doomsday trend, and some, like BNP, have already begun to do so. But they need to do more and faster.”

Hannah Saggau, Stand.earth Senior Climate Finance Campaigner: 

“Financing for risky and unreliable LNG by banks is a growing concern. Many banks have become overt boosters for LNG expansion, focused on short term profits from loans without recognizing the long-term market risks as European and Asian countries’ energy transition accelerates. It’s critical to question the bank and LNG industry hype about this fuel, which is not key to a reliable and secure energy future.”

Report authors include BankTrack, the Center for Energy, Ecology & Development, Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International, Rainforest Action Network, Reclaim Finance, Sierra Club, and Urgewald.

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