Stand.earth and the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) have issued a report highlighting the inadequacies of the environmental and social policies of the top six banks financing oil and gas extraction in the Amazon. The report, titled “Greenwashing the Amazon,” reveals that only one bank, HSBC, has implemented effective policies to protect the Amazon rainforest and its Indigenous Peoples.
The Amazon rainforest, crucial for global biodiversity and climate stability, is approaching a critical tipping point. The report emphasizes that banks like Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Itaú Unibanco, Santander, and Bank of America contribute to the region’s destruction by failing to enforce robust environmental and social risk management frameworks. On average, 71% of the Amazon is left unprotected by these banks' policies, making the region vulnerable to deforestation, biodiversity loss, and violations of Indigenous rights.
In December 2022, HSBC committed to excluding oil and gas financing from Amazon, resulting in no new transactions in 2023 related to the region’s oil and gas activities.
The report highlights the dire consequences of continued oil and gas financing. In Ecuador, oil and gas concessions overlap with 65% of Indigenous Territories, leading to significant environmental degradation and numerous oil spills that have severely impacted Indigenous communities. Similarly, in Peru, 33% of Indigenous Territories are threatened by oil and gas operations, posing risks to both the environment and Indigenous cultures, including those of uncontacted tribes.
Current research also reveals structural issues in financial transactions. More than 560 transactions analyzed over the past 20 years showed that many are structured to bypass stringent environmental and social screenings, thus facilitating the Amazon’s continued exploitation without adequate risk management.
Notably, North American banks Citibank and JPMorgan Chase are the leading financiers, providing billions of dollars in direct financing for oil and gas projects in the Amazon. The report criticizes these banks for their insufficient application of environmental and social risk policies, highlighting significant policy loopholes and the prevalence of deal structures that undermine due diligence.
Santander, Europe’s largest financier of Amazon oil and gas and fourth largest globally, provided nearly $1.4 billion to the sector from 2009 to 2023. Despite having extensive exclusion policies covering 16% of the Amazon, 85% of Santander’s transactions are for syndicated bonds, which lack transparency and diminish the bank’s accountability for adverse impacts.
The report calls for a comprehensive geographic exclusion of oil and gas financing in the Amazon, akin to the Arctic exclusions adopted in 2020. This measure is crucial to avert the Amazon’s tipping point and ensure the protection of at least 80% of the rainforest by 2025.
Stand.earth and COICA urge banks to stop new oil and gas financing, end current investments, cease trade financing for oil and gas, and adjust their portfolios to support sustainable development. This is essential to protecting the Amazon, mitigating climate change, and upholding Indigenous rights.
This report’s release has garnered support from numerous civil society organizations and experts, underscoring the urgent need for financial institutions to adopt more responsible and forward-looking policies.
“Since oil exploitation began 60 years ago in the Ecuadorian Amazon, we have been promised progress, health, well-being, and education, but above all, a dignified life. However, since then, Indigenous Peoples have only been victims of a corrupt system that perpetuates violence against us, takes away our territory, natural resources, brothers and sisters, and our quality of life,” said José Esach, president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONFENIAE).
“Through their deceptive policies and empty promises, these banks are attempting to greenwash oil and gas extraction in the Amazon and obscure the destructive impacts of their ecosystem-devastating investments,” said report co-author Angeline Robertson, senior investigative researcher at Stand.earth. “They claim to care about climate change, biodiversity, and Indigenous Peoples, but these commitments mean nothing until banks stop pouring fuel on the fire by funneling billions into brutal oil and gas expansion in the region.”
The report urges financial institutions to recognize the urgent need for action to protect the Amazon and its Indigenous communities, highlighting that their current policies are insufficient to prevent further environmental degradation and social harm.
