BNP Paribas SA, the French banking titan, is being sued by a trio of climate activist groups in Paris over allegations that its loans to oil and gas companies violate a legally binding agreement not to harm the environment with its activities.
The activist groups, Oxfam, Les Amis de la Terre (Friends of the Earth) and Notre Affaire à Tous, said the suit is intended to make the bank stop the financing of fossil fuels. French companies have become a particular focus of efforts like this thanks to a 2017 law that requires them to draft environmental damage vigilance plans.
No French court has forced a company to stop certain actions based on the 2017 law, though. That said, a ruling in a case brought against BNP client TotalEnergies is expected on Tuesday.
Alexandre Poidatz, advocacy officer at Oxfam France, said BNP "continues to write new blank cheques to the largest fossil fuel companies without setting any conditions for an oil-free, gas-free ecological transition."
Specifically, the groups claim that BNP Paribas helped fund eight European and North American oil and gas companies, which are involved in more than 200 new fossil fuel projects globally.
BNP Paribas' outstanding fossil fuels loans totalled 23.7bn euros as of September, the bank said in a statement last month.
The climate groups noted that the United Nations statement on net-zero emissions commitments have stated that a bank cannot claim to be committed to net zero while at the same time supporting new oil and gas projects.
BNP shares climbed 1.5% Thursday afternoon in Paris.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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