The world's 65 largest banks committed $906 billion to fossil fuel financing in 2025, up 8 percent from $842.6 billion in 2024 and the second consecutive annual increase, with financing for fossil fuel expansion rising 27 percent, the 17th annual Banking on Climate Chaos report found.
REPORT FINDINGS
The report, compiled by Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, Reclaim Finance and BankTrack, ranks banks by their fossil fuel financing. US banks accounted for 32.2 percent of the total and recorded the largest regional increase, adding $35 billion compared with 2024.
JPMorgan Chase was the largest financier for a third consecutive year, at $58.2 billion, followed by Bank of America ($47.3 billion), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ($47 billion), Mizuho Financial Group ($46.5 billion) and Citigroup ($45.3 billion). Twenty-six banks, mostly European, reduced their fossil fuel financing in 2025, led by BMO, BNP Paribas and Groupe BPCE.
Expansion financing rose for the second straight year.
POLICY ROLLBACKS
The report also documented policy rollbacks: only 34 of the 65 banks still have oil and gas sector policies, eight banks removed or weakened fossil fuel policies, and the number with coal policies fell from 46 to 44.
RBC and Scotiabank dropped their 2030 decarbonisation targets, and Scotiabank also dropped its 2050 net-zero commitment.
The increases coincided with the collapse of the UN-backed Net-Zero Banking Alliance after North American banks left it. The report's authors said "anti-climate political pressure" had been "particularly acute" in the US, prompting banks to loosen restrictions.
Bank news that matters, every weekday.
Follow The Global Banker on LinkedIn