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More than 80 organisations have written to the chief executives of 12 major banks, including NatWest, Lloyds and HSBC, urging them to stop providing finance for Ithaca Energy

Campaigners take part in a stop Rosebank protest in Edinburgh last year(PA Wire/PA Images)

UK banks are being asked to stop financing the company behind the controversial Rosebank oil field development, located northwest of the Shetland Islands in the North Sea.

Over 80 groups, including Make My Money Matter, Greenpeace UK and Global Witness, have written to the bosses of 12 big banks, like NatWest, Lloyds and HSBC. They want the banks to stop funding Ithaca Energy, an oil and gas company in the North Sea, which is spending billions on the Rosebank project with Norwegian oil giant Equinor.




A report called Banking on Climate Chaos’s 2023 says that between 2016 and 2022, Lloyds gave $78 million (£61m), HSBC gave $60m (£47.0m) and Natwest gave $78m (£61m) to Ithaca Energy. The letter points out that most of the 12 banks are part of the Net Zero Banking Alliance, which means they’ve promised to stick to the Paris Agreement’s goal of trying to limit global warming to 1.5C and move towards green energy.

HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest have publicly said they will stop directly funding new oil and gas projects. But this promise doesn’t include corporate level financing to energy clients, who can then decide to use it to fund new projects themselves.

It’s believed that Lloyds has no outstanding loans with Ithaca and sold down its debt facilities with the company in 2023. The letter referred to the International Energy Association’s Net Zero by 2050 roadmap.

This found that to meet the target, “no new oil and natural gas fields are required beyond those that have already been approved for development” with final investment decisions in 2021. Ithaca’s final decision to invest in Rosebank was announced in 2023. The signatories said it was “clearly not aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5C”.

They also said that the new project will increase Ithaca’s carbon footprint and therefore those of the banks’ financed emissions. The letter also asked the banks not to provide any future financing to Ithaca. This includes helping with capital market activities and providing advisory services.

The letter told chief executives: “Any future financing, including advisory services, to Ithaca Energy would expose your bank to significant risks if the company moves forward with the Rosebank field and other expansion projects. These include risks to the bank’s reputation, possible legal and regulatory claims, as well as potential impact on investor expectations.”



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