EcoWatch
Facebook 558k Twitter 222k Instagram 52k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Conservation
  • Food + Agriculture
  • Renewables
  • Oceans
  • Policy
  • Insights + Opinion
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Conservation
  • Food + Agriculture
  • Renewables
  • Oceans
  • Policy
  • Insights + Opinion
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 558k Twitter 222k Instagram 52k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 558k Twitter 222k Instagram 52k
    Home Business

    Barclays Tightens Lending for Coal and Oil Sands Exploration but Not for Oil and Gas in General

    By: Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
    Published: February 16, 2023
    Edited by Chris McDermott
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    Protesters outside a Barclays bank in London called for the bank to stop financing fossil fuel projects
    Protesters outside Barclays bank in Mayfair, London called for the bank to stop financing the Jackdaw gas field, owned by Shell, on July 2, 2022. Vuk Valcic / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    British bank Barclays has announced the narrowing of its lending criteria for clients involved in coal-fired power generation and will cease to finance the surface mining method of oil sands exploration and production, but has still not committed to restricting lending for oil and gas as some of its competitors have.

    In its annual report for 2022, Barclays extended its planned phaseout of financing for coal-fired power from clients in the UK and EU by 2030 to include other member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

    “Disappointingly, despite not having published a new oil and gas policy for the last three years, the bank’s fracking policy remains unchanged and there is no mention of new oil and gas. This means Barclays continues to be out of step with current minimum standards of ambition within the industry,” Head of Banking Programme at ShareAction Jeanne Martin said in a statement.

    More From EcoWatch
    • The Most Common Solar Panel Financing Options
    • How to Lower Your Energy Bill
    • What Is a Good Payback Period for Solar Panels?

    Environmental activists have urged banks worldwide to stop their financing of new oil and gas extraction and criticized them for announcing plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but not implementing them quickly enough.

    In its report, Barclays said it will end the financing of new oil sands pipelines, as well as oil tar sands companies.

    The multinational bank also set its first target for the automotive manufacturing industry to reduce its emissions, reported Reuters. It promised 40 to 64 percent lower emissions by 2030 compared to last year’s numbers.

    In addition, Barclays set a “convergence point” rather than a target for reducing emissions in the residential real estate sector by 40 percent by 2030. It said the decarbonization of homes in the UK was reliant on a broader set of decisions that were beyond the bank’s control.

    The annual report said last year Barclays had lowered its emissions for the energy, cement and steel sectors.

    For the bank’s energy clients, the amount of absolute greenhouse gas emissions generated has gone down 32 percent since 2020.

    30 investors with $1.5 trillion in assets being managed by five of Europe’s biggest banks — including Barclays — have written to one or more of them to ask that they agree to stop the direct financing of new oil and gas fields by the end of this year and instead focus on renewable energy companies, nonprofit ShareAction said. The investors expressed their concern that the worldwide path to net zero would be threatened by new oil and gas fields.

    “Barclays should step up and act swiftly to update its oil and gas policy ahead of its 2023 AGM to meet science-based standards on climate that have made it clear there is no room for new oil and gas fields if we want to limit global warming to 1.5C,” Martin said in the statement. “Otherwise, the bank should be prepared to deal with further shareholder action to encourage Barclays to meaningfully align with its net zero goal.”

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Cristen is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. She holds a JD and an Ocean & Coastal Law Certificate from University of Oregon School of Law and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. She is the author of the short story collection The Smallest of Entryways, as well as the travel biography, Ernest’s Way: An International Journey Through Hemingway’s Life.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      Trump’s New Section of Border Wall Will Threaten Rare Wildlife in Arizona’s San Rafael Valley
      President Donald Trump is building a new section of the
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
      World’s Biggest Polluters Least Impacted by Conflict and Environmental Damage: Study
      The world’s biggest polluters are also the most protected from
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
      Global Hunger Rises for 6th Consecutive Year in a ‘World Dangerously off Course’: UN Report
      Acute global food insecurity rose for the sixth year in
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • Trump’s New Section of Border Wall Will Threaten Rare Wildlife in Arizona’s San Rafael Valley
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 19, 2025
        • Illegal Bird Killings Continue Despite Prevention Pledges: Report
          by Paige Bennett
          May 19, 2025
        • World’s Biggest Polluters Least Impacted by Conflict and Environmental Damage: Study
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 19, 2025
        • Iroquois Valley: Investing in Farmers Transitioning to Organic, Regenerative Agriculture
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 16, 2025
        • Global Hunger Rises for 6th Consecutive Year in a ‘World Dangerously off Course’: UN Report
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 16, 2025
        • Low River Levels in UK Raise Concerns of Drought
          by Paige Bennett
          May 16, 2025
        • Record Number of River Barriers Removed in Europe in 2024: Report
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 16, 2025
        • China’s CO2 Emissions Fall for the First Time Despite Rising Power Demand, Signaling Possible Peak
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          May 16, 2025
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 558k
          Twitter 222k
          Instagram 52k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more
          • Privacy Policy
          • Terms of Use
          • Cookie Preferences
          • Do Not Sell My Information
          © 2025 EcoWatch. All Rights Reserved.

          Advertiser Disclosure

          Our editorial team is committed to creating independent and objective content focused on helping our readers make informed decisions. To help support these efforts we receive compensation from companies that advertise with us.

          The compensation we receive from these companies may impact how and where products appear on this site. This compensation does not influence the recommendations or advice our editorial team provides within our content. We do not include all companies, products or offers that may be available.