US banks ‘sabotaging’ own net zero plans by livestock financing, report claims

Lending to meat, dairy and feed corporations led to ‘significant proportion’ of banks’ emissions, Friends of the Earth found

American banks are “sabotaging” their own climate commitments by financing meat, dairy and feed corporations, according to a report.

The report analysed funding from 58 US banks to animal protein and feed companies in the form of loans and underwriting, such as share and bond issuance guarantees.

“Banks have committed to pathways to net zero, but they are ignoring a huge cow-shaped hole in their plans,” said Monique Mikhail, the lead author of the report and director of the agriculture and climate finance programme with Friends of the Earth, an NGO.

In emissions terms, the report links more than 24m metric tonnes of CO2 – about equal to the annual exhaust emissions from 5m cars – to animal protein and feed company financing by what it calls the “big three” livestock lenders: Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase.