Amieyeofori
Banks and finance institutions that have signed up to net zero pledges under the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, GFANZ, initiative are still investing heavily in fossil fuels.
The Lead promoter Energy Hub and Chairman of AOGS Resources Limited, Felix Amieyeofori, a Professor of Energy Sustainability and Economic Policy stated this at the Africa Energy Outlook 2023 Webinar organised by AOGS Energy Resources Limited last week.
He noted that 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 Professor stated that the GFANZ consists of 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.
However, he said, “at least 56 of the biggest banks in the net-zero banking alliance grouping, NZBA, have provided $270bn to 102 fossil fuel companies for their expansion, through 134 loans and 215 underwriting arrangements”.
Energy Frontier is of the view that the change in behavior could be as a result of Energy Crisis the world started facing in 2022 due to the RUSSIAN-Ukraine war that resulted to the shortage of Gas supply to some countries.
However, few of the GFANZ members had put in place watertight investment policies, that would stop them financing new fossil fuel projects, even though all are supposed to be shifting their portfolios to be in line with the 1.5C goal, confirmed at Cop26.
