Fair Finance International

🚺 Gender equality: how does your bank compare?   Fair Finance coalitions assess and rank financial institutions’ policies regarding #sustainability and social issues on 8 to 21 themes. Given our commitment to advancing #genderequality and belief that financial institutions can play a crucial role in this, gender equality is a cross-cutting core theme and is included in each assessment carried out by a Fair Finance coalition. Although we see improvements over time, it is very slow and with regional variation. The fact that in 2022 the average score across coalitions was 4.1, which is the lowest score received in the core themes, indicates a great deal more must be done to achieve #genderjustice. See more ➡ https://lnkd.in/edz5AWbc 💸 We know #women are more likely to be excluded from formal financial systems – in fact one billion women still do not use or have access to the financial system, thus rendering women more vulnerable to economic and social exclusion. Research has also shown that where women do have access to bank accounts there is persistent gender inequality in terms of #loans and #investments made to women.   📃 The Fair Finance methodology tries to address these issues using a variety of elements in its Gender Equality theme that can be assessed when looking at #financialinstitutions policies. This ranges from policies to prevent and mitigate #genderdiscrimination, to questions on participation and equal access of women in Board of Directors and senior management levels, from policies on equal renumeration to the inclusion of clauses on compliance with gender and women’s rights in contracts. Fair Finance International assesses banks on gender policies and FF coalitions conduct case studies to check whether financing practices align with policies. See examples here ➡: https://lnkd.in/e_iHa_6i, here➡: https://lnkd.in/entGNAgn and here➡: https://lnkd.in/ehzxkhbV ♎ It is high time financial institutions and the financial sector at large consider the direct impact investment policies and practices have on the socio-economic situation of women worldwide and work to put in place gender-just financial policies and practices.   🔎 Find out more about the Fair Finance methodology and how the financial sector can do better for women and be a solution for gender inequality rather than a cause ➡: https://lnkd.in/ezUft-2G #esg #sustainablefinance #responsibleinvesting Kees Kodde Bram Joanknecht Profundo

🆕 Job alert: #FairFinanceAsia seeks a Graphic Design Consultant Deadline to apply ➡: 29th July 2024 Find out more ➡: https://lnkd.in/eQw8QT9a #responsibleinvesting #sustainablefinance #graphicdesign #communications Kyle Cruz Bernadette V. Victoria C. Linh Nguyen

📢 BREAKING! New research reveals a staggering $4.3 trillion of institutional investments in #fossilfuels. 2024 was supposed to be the year of #climatefinance – yet pension funds, asset managers, insurers and hedge funds are still deep in coal, oil and gas.   The new Investing in Climate Chaos report by Urgewald and 17 NGO partners, including Fair Finance International, exposes the fossil fuel holdings of over 7,500 institutional investors worldwide finding, amongst others, that investors and asset managers from 10 countries are responsible for 91% of institutional investments in the fossil fuel industry. These countries are the US, Canada, Japan, the UK, India, China, Norway, Switzerland, France and Germany.   Learn more ➡: https://lnkd.in/er48CUCp #oilandgas #climatejustice #EndFossilFinance Rainforest Action Network Milieudefensie JACSES Stand.earth Framtiden i våre hender Greenpeace Stop the Money Pipeline ReCommon

📢 Fair Finance International’s latest newsletter is out! ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eGXdyMnr Highlighting some of the great work of the network in recent months and some exciting news, including: 🚀 The launch of #FairFinanceNigeria and Fair Finance Uganda #FairFinanceUG 👍 A new report by #FairFinanceAsia on Enhancing Sustainable Finance in Mekong #Hydropower 👍 Sweden's AP7 Pension Fund exclusion of Saudi Aramco 👍 An investigation by #FairFinanceBolivia of the financiers of the #agribusiness lobby in Bolivia and much more… To continue receiving the newsletter sign up here ➡️: http://eepurl.com/h2U9IL #responsibleinvesting #sustainablefinance #esg #genderequality #labourrights #humanrights #climatejustice #duediligence #financialinstitutions Oxfam in Uganda Oxfam in Nigeria Philip Talemwa Henry Ushie Ekpe Resource Rights Africa (RRA) International Rivers Profundo Facing Finance e.V. Bernadette V. Kyle Cruz Jakob König Eerlijke Geldwijzer Barbara Oosters Yuki Tanabe ayako honkawa

💥 A recent report from Framtiden i våre hender, lead member of #FairFinanceNorway, has found that in 2023, the Norwegian Oil Fund (Norges Bank Investment Management, NBIM) failed to support climate resolutions and actually supported climate-harmful strategies at some of the world's largest #oilandgas companies and banks financing #fossilfuels. 💰 The oil fund is one of the largest global investors with more than $1.3tn assets under management (AUM) and is amongst the biggest shareholders in most of the largest, highest-emitting global oil and gas companies. 📜 Although in its Climate Action Plan, the oil fund promises to use its considerable influence as a shareholder to encourage companies to set science-based emissions targets and disclose plans to achieve them, this report finds it is failing to act on this intention. 👎 The report examines the oil fund’s voting patterns in 2023 at 19 major company AGMs, and reveals that despite its own climate commitments, the fund continues to support key blocking industries (such as fossil fuels) and in fact more so that than its peers. Find out more ➡: https://lnkd.in/gT-f3pGk #sustainablefinance #responsibleinvesting #climatechange #peopleandplanet Lucy Brooks Ingrid Næss-Holm

📢 New research from #FairFinanceTheNetherlands Eerlijke Geldwijzer shows that over the past six years, four Dutch banks have invested more than 14 billion euros in ten #mining, #oilandgas companies (including Glencore, Shell, TotalEnergies) which have been involved in serious human rights violations. Mining companies and oil and gas producers run a high risk of getting involved in human rights abuses. The activities of these extractive companies regularly have adverse impacts such as resettlement of #communities without adequate consultation and compensation, negative impacts on the livelihoods of local communities and their access to water, #labourrights abuses, major safety accidents, and violence against protesters. 💰 As mining companies and oil and gas producers need a significant amount of investment to run their business, extractive companies are highly dependent banks’ willingness to finance their activities. However, through such financing and investment activities, banks can become connected to negative #humanrights impacts in the extractive sectors. 🏛 To help avoid this, as outlined in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), banks should have ongoing #duediligence processes in place to prevent, mitigate, and remediate human rights abuses they are directly linked to, have caused or to which they have contributed. 🎯 Today’s new report by Eerlijke Geldwijzer aims to assess if and how Dutch banks address human rights’ risks in relation to their lending, underwriting activities and/or investments in extractive companies. Find out more ➡: https://lnkd.in/eVme7JsF Access the report ➡:https://lnkd.in/eskB8y_b #UNGuidingPrinciples #UNGPs #responsibleinvesting #sustainablefinance #esg Profundo Juliette Laplane Amnesty International The Netherlands PAX for peace Milieudefensie Oxfam Novib World Animal Protection Nederland Barbara Oosters

📢 Today Glencore is holding its AGM. One of the largest mining companies in the world, Glencore’s business model continues to have devastating impacts on local communities and the environment. Several scandals have provided evidence of Glencore’s involvement in human rights violations, #corruption, tax avoidance and #environmental destruction. In November 2023 Fair Finance International, Oxfam, CooperAcción, #Cinep and Censat Agua Viva published a series of reports detailing the damage Glencore’s mines inflict with regard specifically to the Cerrejón coal mine in northern #Colombia, and the Antapaccay copper mine in Espinar in #Peru. The report also makes 6 recommendations to Glencore to improve their practice which we highlight again today: ⛏ Implement robust human rights and environmental #duediligence mechanisms across the #valuechain and conduct ongoing participatory community monitoring throughout the life of a project. 📃 Commit to implement and publish third-party audits of its social and environmental performance, including on free, prior and informed consent #fpic ⚖ Resource and guarantee the independence of its existing complaints mechanisms and procedures to bring them into line with the recommendations of the International Commission of Jurists. 📜 Revise existing policy commitment to free, prior and informed consent to explicitly and publicly recognize the right of #Indigenouscommunities to withhold their consent for new mining projects, planned expansions or other changes to project design, or environmental interventions that will affect them. 🚺 Strengthen policies and internal systems to ensure community consultation and consent processes are inclusive and #gender responsive. ✊ Strengthen policy commitment around #humanrightsdefenders to include explicit language regarding zero tolerance for any form of retaliation by employees, suppliers or business partners against defenders for the work they do. Find out more about the series of reports here 👉: https://lnkd.in/e-PFxmwQ Read the recommendations, including those specific to the Antapaccay copper mine in Peru and the Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia here 👉 : https://lnkd.in/eYrywxYn Broederlijk Delen vzw London Mining Network NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark Profundo Oxfam International Oxfam Novib

This #AfricaDay2024 #FairFinanceCoalitionSouthernAfrica member African Climate Reality Project and #ACRPWestAfrica have launched a petition calling on the African Development Bank Group to: 🌍 Stop funding new #fossilfuels and invest in renewable energy to address energy poverty and mitigate climate change.  🤝 Strengthen and expand the work within the AfDB Civil Society Committee and engage meaningfully with civil society. #civilsociety 🔍Increase #transparency and #accountability of deals and investments ✍️ Sign & share this petition: https://shorturl.at/TIzPG #AfDBAM2024 #FinanceOurFuture #TheAfricaWeWant  Courtney Morgan 350Africa.org Justiça Ambiental EARTHLIFE AFRICA Centre for Environmental Rights

🆕 New report from #FairFinanceAsia urges financial institutions to play an active role in ensuring that #hydropower projects along the Mekong River uphold the rights of communities and protect the environment. ❗ The study highlights large hydropower projects’ links to extensive #social and #environmental impacts and increased unpaid care and domestic work, poverty, and mental health stresses, particularly for female community members, due to displacement and resettlement. 💰 The report calls on governments, financial institutions, and other stakeholders to prioritize cross-border financing models and regulations that promote responsible hydropower development in line with international standards in environmental and #humanrights due diligence. 🤝 The study was carried out in partnership with Profundo and in consultation with Fair Finance coalitions in Thailand, Lao PDR and Cambodia. Read the full report here ➡:https://lnkd.in/enaNy8Uh #responsibleinvesting #sustainablefinance #mekongriver #esg Bernadette V. Kyle Cruz Victoria C. Sophal MAR Juliette Laplane Ponpakin Phruttiwongwanit Jan Willem van Gelder

💥 The New Banking on Climate Chaos report is out #BOCC The report, which investigates the #fossilfuel financing and policies of the world’s 60 largest banks, is the most comprehensive analysis to date and provides some truly alarming statistics. ❗ Fossil fuel financing from the world’s 60 largest banks has reached nearly $6.9 trillion in the eight years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, with $705 billion in 2023 alone. 🚨 JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chase is the top financier of fossil fuels in 2023, by $40.8 billion worth. 🚨 Mizuho ranks as the second worst, providing $37.1 billion, while Bank of America is in third place. 🚨 The worst funder of fossil fuel expansion since the Paris Agreement is Citibank, providing $204.5 billion since 2016. 👍 The report also highlights frontline stories of people leading against destructive fossil fuel projects and companies around the world, including cases on which Fair Finance coalitions are working; like that of the Cirebon 2 power plant in Indonesia #FairFinanceIndonesia #Responsibank, #FairFinanceNetherlands Eerlijke Geldwijzer, #FairFinanceJapan and the Mozambique Liquid Natural Gas Project #FairFinanceCoalitionSouthernAfrica ℹ Find out more about the report at https://lnkd.in/exx2ScK #BankingOnClimateChaos #StopTheMoneyPipeline #FossilBanksNoThanks #EndFossilFinance Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, CEED, Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International, Reclaim Finance - ONG, Sierra Club, Urgewald African Climate Reality Project 350Africa.org EARTHLIFE AFRICA Centre for Environmental Rights Ah Maftuchan Herni Ramdlaningrum Dwi Rahayu Ningrum Barbara Oosters The PRAKARSA Yuki Tanabe ayako honkawa Naziha Tanoti