"Financial institutions signed up to GFANZ initiative accused of acting as ‘climate arsonists’"

"Banks and finance institutions that have signed up to net zero pledges are still investing heavily in fossil fuels, research has shown, leading to accusations they are acting as “climate arsonists”.

The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) initiative was launched by the former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, as one of the main UK achievements in hosting the Cop26 UN climate summit at Glasgow in 2021.

The UK boasted at Cop26 that 450 organisations in 45 countries with assets of more than $130tn had signed up to GFANZ, to align their investments with the goal of limiting global temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

But its members have poured hundreds of billions into fossil fuels since then, according to data compiled by the pressure group Reclaim Finance."

Fiona Harvey reports for the Guardian January 17, 2023. [2]