11/06/2026
Where you bank is a climate decision, even if it has never felt like one.
The world's biggest banks put $906 billion into fossil fuels last year. A new report has the receipts, and several UK banks are in it.
Banking on Climate Chaos 2026, published this month, tracks fossil fuel financing by the 65 largest banks globally. According to the report, Barclays was the biggest UK financier at around $34 billion, and the only European bank in its "Dirty Dozen". HSBC increased its fossil fuel financing by more than 16% over the year. Standard Chartered increased its fossil fuel financing by almost 28%.
The report also found high street names you might recognise. It says Santander nearly doubled its fossil fuel financing since 2021 while watering down its own 2030 climate targets, and that NatWest dropped its requirement for oil and gas clients to even have a transition plan.
But it isn't all one direction. The report found 26 of the 65 biggest banks cut their fossil fuel financing last year, and one, La Banque Postale, committed nothing at all.
We're a bank built on the idea that money should do good, and we've never financed the fossil fuel industry - but one bank can't shift this on its own.
The report shows change is possible, now the rest of the banking sector needs to follow the banks already doing it.
