Stop banks fuelling the climate crisis

UK banks are pouring billions into fossil fuels and harmful industrial agriculture – seemingly profiting from climate change and the devastation it causes.

The Government says one of its five missions is for the UK to be “a clean green Superpower” but UK banks currently have free rein to fund destructive industries as much as they want – no matter the damage it causes or the impact it has on women and girls.

We know that women and girls are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis. This is because it often makes existing gender inequalities worse, with women more likely to experience violence, malnutrition and, sometimes, death.

ActionAid UK’s Who pays the price? The cost of HSBC’s climate damages report revealed that UK banks are financing massive and widespread climate devastation. Between 2021 and 2023 HSBC caused a shocking £128 billion in climate damages.

The world’s addiction to fossil fuels must stop if we are to stop the climate emergency.

Sign the petition demanding Keir Starmer regulates UK banks to stop them from funding the industries that are driving the climate crisis.

The UK Government must:

• Introduce a new law to make banks accountable for the environmental damage and human rights abuses they cause – which disproportionately impact women and girls.

• Levy a ‘polluters pay’ tax on banks to discourage their financing of climate destruction, with funds used to support communities after climate disasters and invest in women led solutions.

• Make it mandatory for banks to report on emissions and publish credible transition plans.