AR142

An Assembly Resolution urging lending institutions in the State to stop financing projects that contribute to climate change.

Whereas, The exploration for, development of, and burning of fossil fuels, such as oil, gas, and coal, releases greenhouse gases into the Earth’s atmosphere that cause rising global temperatures that lead to catastrophic weather events, such as intense storms, weather extremes, heat waves, wildfires, and flooding; and

Whereas, Despite the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, an international treaty between 196 countries to limit and reduce the rise of global temperatures by cutting greenhouse gas emissions worldwide by 50 percent by 2030, the world’s largest lending institutions provided a combined total of $3.8 trillion in financing to oil, gas, and coal companies from 2016 to 2020; and

Whereas, The world’s 60 largest lending institutions, which include leading banks such as JP Morgan Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, the Royal Bank of Canada, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, the Bank of China, and Barclays, have incrementally increased financing to oil, gas, and coal companies each year between 2016 and 2019; and

Whereas, Many of the world’s 60 largest lending institutions financed the fracking of oil in Neuquén province, Argentina, which has not only contributed to global climate change, but has also negatively affected the health and economic prosperity of the indigenous Mapuche people native to the area; and

Whereas, Today, the Mapuche people and their grazing animals suffer from serious health issues that have been linked to the fracking of oil, such as deformities, cancer, and bone density loss, and the Mapuche community has lost large swaths of land to oil companies that were originally used for subsistence pasture; and

Whereas, In Mozambique, a gas extraction project financed by major lending institutions has resulted in the forced relocation of at least 550 local families, has reduced the amount of usable land, and has left families in formerly self-sustaining local villages without livelihoods; and

Whereas, Environmentally conscious lending institutions acknowledge that financing projects that contribute to climate change damages the health of the planet, and all life living on it, and take action to limit and reduce funding to oil, gas, and coal companies that plan to undertake projects that increase greenhouse gas emissions; and

Whereas, NatWest, formally the Royal Bank of Scotland, the largest bank in the world, and a substantial financier of the oil, gas, and coal industries, has pledged to finance $133 billion in sustainable energy projects by the end of 2025, and has already financed a significant number of sustainable energy projects in the past, including offering $10 billion in sustainable and climate financing from 2018 to 2020, and $200 million in 2012; and

Whereas, In 2017, NatWest reported it did not finance any new coal mining projects, and in 2020 announced it would stop lending and underwriting major oil and gas companies if the companies failed to provide a transition plan that aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement to restrict global temperatures by the end of 2021; and

Whereas, In addition, while NatWest continues to finance previously existing coal-related projects, the bank plans to phase out all coal-related financing globally by January 1, 2030, reduce carbon-related financing by 50 percent by 2030, and achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions on discretionarily managed assets by 2050; and

Whereas, It is important that other lending institutions adopt a similar limit in financing oil, gas, and coal projects, and begin substantially financing sustainable energy projects in order to prevent the pervasive, damaging effects of climate change, and protect the Earth’s environment and all life living on it; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This House respectfully urges lending institutions in the State to stop financing projects that contribute to climate change.

2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor of the State of New Jersey, each member of the State Legislature, and the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance.

STATEMENT

This resolution urges lending institutions in the State to stop financing projects that contribute to climate change. The exploration for, development of, and burning of fossil fuels, such as oil, gas, and coal, releases greenhouse gases into the Earth’s atmosphere. Greenhouse gases cause rising global temperatures that lead to catastrophic weather events, such as intense storms, weather extremes, heat waves, wildfires, and flooding. Despite the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, the world’s 60 largest lending institutions provided a combined total of $3.8 trillion in financing to oil, gas, and coal companies from 2016 to 2020. In addition, these same lending institutions have incrementally increased financing to oil, gas, and coal companies each year between 2016 and 2019.

Many of these major lending institutions financed the fracking of oil in Neuquén province, Argentina, which has negatively affected the health and economic prosperity of the indigenous Mapuche people native to the area. Today, the Mapuche people and the animals grazing on the land suffer from serious health issues that have been linked to the fracking of oil, such as deformities, cancer, and bone density loss. In addition, the Mapuche community has lost large swaths of land to oil companies that were originally used for subsistence pasture. In Mozambique, a gas extraction project financed by major lending institutions has resulted in the forced relocation of at least 550 local families, has reduced the amount of usable land, and has left families in formerly self-sustaining local villages without livelihoods.

Environmentally conscious lending institutions acknowledge that financing projects that contribute to climate change damages the health of the planet, and all life living on it, and take action to limit and reduce funding to oil, gas, and coal companies that plan to undertake projects that increase greenhouse gas emissions. For example, NatWest, formally the Royal Bank of Scotland, the largest bank in the world, and a substantial financier of the oil, gas, and coal industries, has pledged to finance $133 billion in sustainable energy projects by the end of 2025. NatWest has already financed a significant number of sustainable energy projects in the past, including offering $10 billion in sustainable and climate financing from 2018 to 2020, and $200 million in 2012. In 2017, NatWest reported it did not finance any new coal mining projects. In 2020, NatWest announced it would stop lending and underwriting major oil and gas companies if the companies failed to provide a transition plan that aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement to restrict global temperatures by the end of 2021.

In addition, while NatWest still finances previously existing coal related projects, the bank plans to phase out all coal related financing globally by January 1, 2030, reduce carbon related financing by 50 percent by 2030, and achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions on discretionarily managed assets by 2050. In order to prevent the pervasive, damaging effects of climate change, and protect the Earth’s environment and all life living on it, it is important that other lending institutions adopt a similar limit in financing oil, gas, and coal projects, and begin substantially financing sustainable energy projects. Therefore, this House urges lending institutions in the State to stop financing projects that contribute to climate change.