{"id":187204,"date":"2021-06-21T12:00:54","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T11:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=187204"},"modified":"2021-06-17T04:28:43","modified_gmt":"2021-06-17T03:28:43","slug":"banks-increased-deforestation-linked-investments-by-8b-during-covid-19-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2021\/06\/banks-increased-deforestation-linked-investments-by-8b-during-covid-19-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Banks Increased Deforestation-Linked Investments by $8B during Covid-19: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_187206\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/amazonFiresAug20-deforestation.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-187206\" class=\"wp-image-187206\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/amazonFiresAug20-deforestation.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/amazonFiresAug20-deforestation.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/amazonFiresAug20-deforestation-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-187206\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A fire in an area that registered Prodes deforestation warnings between 2017-2019.<br \/>Photo: Christian Braga \/ Greenpeace.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"bulletpoints\">\n<ul>\n<li><em>A new analysis of financial data by Forests &amp; Finance, a coalition of NGOs, has found that weak policies and continued major investments in forest-risk sectors are driving deforestation in Southeast Asia, Latin America and West and Central Africa.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>The group compared the environmental commitments of the world\u2019s 50 top financial institutions against their investments, lending and guarantees to more than 200 companies operating in deforestation-linked industries such as palm oil and beef.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>The group found an increase of more than $8 billion of investments in deforestation-linked companies compared to the previous year.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>The Forests &amp; Finance database was made publicly searchable last year and includes data going back to 2013.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><em>15 Jun 2021 &#8211; <\/em>The world\u2019s 50 largest financial institutions increased their investments in deforestation-linked commodity companies by more than $8 billion since the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new report has found.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The research, published last week by Forests &amp; Finance, a coalition of non-governmental groups, also ranked more than 50 financial institutions based on their environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies, their investments and the financial guarantees they provide to firms operating in forest-risk sectors.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Researchers\u00a0analyzed\u00a0financial records of more than 200 companies to track deals in Southeast Asia, Latin America and West and Central Africa, publishing the updated results in a\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/forestsandfinance.org\/data\/\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"external\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">publicly available database<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">They found that compared to the previous year, the total value of investments in forest-risk commodity companies rose by more than 21%, or $8.1 billion.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Major banks and investors such as Bank of America, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street all received low scores in the index.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_243733\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<div id=\"attachment_187209\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/forests_finance_2021_investors-deforestation-environment.png\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-187209\" class=\"wp-image-187209\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/forests_finance_2021_investors-deforestation-environment-1024x477.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"326\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/forests_finance_2021_investors-deforestation-environment-1024x477.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/forests_finance_2021_investors-deforestation-environment-300x140.png 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/forests_finance_2021_investors-deforestation-environment-768x358.png 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/forests_finance_2021_investors-deforestation-environment.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-187209\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The top investors by region included in the Forests &amp; Finance database. Source: Forests &amp; Finance.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The data on investments covered financial institutions directly involved in the beef, soy, palm oil, pulp and paper, rubber and tropical timber supply chains, including $128 billion of underwriting of deforestation-linked commodity projects between 2016 and 2020 and $28 billion of investment up to April 2021.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Forests &amp; Finance concluded that\u00a0the policies of the 50 most significant financiers were \u201ccollectively very weak,\u201d averaging just 24% in the rankings. Nine financial institutions scored above 50%, with Dutch bank ABN\u00a0Amro receiving the highest score at 71%.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThis indicates that the majority of financing to the different commodities driving deforestation (beef, palm oil, pulp and paper, rubber, soy, and timber) is not subject to even basic desk-based social, environmental, or governance checks, much less actual verification of client standards,\u201d the group said.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_243734\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<div id=\"attachment_187210\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/forests_finance_2021_sectors-deforestation-environment2.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-187210\" class=\"wp-image-187210\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/forests_finance_2021_sectors-deforestation-environment2-1024x495.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/forests_finance_2021_sectors-deforestation-environment2-1024x495.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/forests_finance_2021_sectors-deforestation-environment2-300x145.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/forests_finance_2021_sectors-deforestation-environment2-768x371.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/forests_finance_2021_sectors-deforestation-environment2.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-187210\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The top investors in the Forests &amp; Finance database by sector. Source: Forests &amp; Finance.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The largest investor assessed by Forests &amp; Finance,\u00a0Permodalan Nasional\u00a0Berhad, a Malaysian fund management firm, scored\u00a00 across every sector, meaning that its $5.7 billion of investments in 2021 in forest-risk sectors were not covered by ESG policies. Banco do\u00a0Brasil, the largest creditor, scored below average at 22%.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Southeast Asian palm oil sector was the largest recipient\u00a0of investment, where five Malaysian financial institutions accounted for a fifth of all investment in the region. Brazil\u2019s BNDES was the largest investor in the beef sector, which\u00a0is\u00a0<\/span><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2020\/11\/brazilian-and-international-banks-financing-global-deforestation-reports\/\"  data-wpel-link=\"internal\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">closely linked to deforestation<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, while US firms\u00a0<\/span><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2020\/09\/blackrocks-400m-stake-in-amazon-meatpackers-defies-sustainability-cred\/\"  data-wpel-link=\"internal\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">BlackRock<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0and Vanguard also held significant interests in Latin American pulp and paper and Southeast Asian palm oil.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_243541\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p><div id=\"attachment_187211\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/indonesia_deforestation-environment.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-187211\" class=\"wp-image-187211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/indonesia_deforestation-environment-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/indonesia_deforestation-environment-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/indonesia_deforestation-environment-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/indonesia_deforestation-environment-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/indonesia_deforestation-environment.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-187211\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oil palm plantation in Riau, Sumatra, Indonesia.<br \/>Image by Rhett A. Butler\/Mongabay.<\/p><\/div><\/figure>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">While the Forests &amp; Finance dataset covers a huge amount of financing of forest-risk industries, researchers\u00a0have pointed out that the figures are likely to be an underestimate due to the differing disclosure requirements in the various jurisdictions involved, as well as the complex nature of lending for such ventures.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cProtecting the world\u2019s tropical forests has quite literally never been more important to all life on Earth,\u201d Merel van der Mark, coordinator for the Forests &amp; Finance coalition, said in a statement. \u201cAnd yet, these financial institutions are all but writing a blank check to the companies driving forest destruction and human rights abuses. Instead of giving these companies carte blanche to destroy forests, financial institutions\u00a0have to\u00a0be able to identify, assess and manage these risks in their portfolios.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Last year, Forests &amp; Finance found that some 300 companies operating in forest-risk sectors had received more than\u00a0<\/span><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2020\/09\/154b-in-capital-has-gone-to-300-forest-risk-companies-since-the-paris-agreement\/\"  data-wpel-link=\"internal\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">$150 billion in financing since the Paris climate agreement<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0was signed in 2016.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_242985\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<div id=\"attachment_187212\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/peru-deforestation-environment.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-187212\" class=\"wp-image-187212\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/peru-deforestation-environment.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/peru-deforestation-environment.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/peru-deforestation-environment-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-187212\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Deforestation on the Tamshi (formerly Cacao del Peru Norte) plantation.<br \/>Image by Diego P\u00e9rez.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2021\/06\/banks-increased-deforestation-linked-investments-by-8b-during-covid-19-report\/\" >Go to Original &#8211; mongabay.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>15 Jun 2021 &#8211; A new analysis of financial data by Forests &#038; Finance, a coalition of NGOs, has found that weak policies and continued major investments in forest-risk sectors are driving deforestation in Southeast Asia, Latin America and West and Central Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":187206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[536,1023,547,232,1690,686,550,794,555,401,1393,866,2071,541,846,1200,2060,1255,329,92,1557],"class_list":["post-187204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","tag-amazonia","tag-banksters","tag-brazil","tag-capitalism","tag-cattle-and-ranch-farmers","tag-climate-change","tag-corruption","tag-deforestation","tag-elites","tag-environment","tag-forest-fires","tag-indigenous-rights","tag-jbs","tag-latin-america-caribbean","tag-meat-industry","tag-natures-rights","tag-profits","tag-rain-forests","tag-resources","tag-violent-conflict","tag-wall-street"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}