Nimra Shahid

gijn.org Exposing Private Money Fueling the Climate Crisis

Corporate actors are shaping the future of the planet arguably more than any single climate summit.

At this #GIJC25 session, veteran environmental reporters offered strategies for unmasking the hidden owners, banks, politicians, and regulators quietly fueling climate change.

Image of winning entry featuring logo of HeadlineMoney. Text: ESG STORY OF THE YEAR WINNER BARCLAYS' BILLIONS OF 'SUSTAINABLE' FINANCE FOR FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY IS GREENWASH, SAYS INVESTOR, JOSEPHINE MOULDS & NIMRA SHAHID, THE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM HIGHLY COMMENDED HOW CARBON COUNTING COULD HAMPER LGPS'S CLIMATE GOALS, MARTIN GEORGE, LOCAL GOVERNMENT CHRONICLE Judge’s comments on the winning story: "A superb use of investigative resource to produce journalism that will have a lasting impact. This is a hugely sensitive area for the major financial institutions, and this fearlessly holds one of those to account"

It was a privilege to win ESG Story of the Year with @josephinemoulds.bsky.social
for our reporting @tbij.bsky.social
at the #HMAwards25

Thank you to HeadlineMoney for this recognition of our work on how Barclays Bank classed billions in finance for the fossil fuel industry as ‘sustainable’.

Coal Loophole Undermines Bank Pledges to Cut Fossil Fuel Funding In the parts of the financial world that have spent the decade since the Paris Agreement trying to curb the most-polluting fossil fuel, there are actually two distinct types of coal — with two very different sets of rules.

Trades that send steelmaking coal to be burned in power stations risk undermining pledges on fossil fuels made by financial institutions.

Coal Loophole Undermines Bank Pledges to Cut Fossil Fuel Funding In the parts of the financial world that have spent the decade since the Paris Agreement trying to curb the most-polluting fossil fuel, there are actually two distinct types of coal — with two very di...

A new investigation by Bloomberg reveals that banks may be in violation of their thermal coal policies by financing "metallurgical coal" companies (i.e. coal for steelmaking)‼️

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

There is an impulse in moments like this to appeal to self-interest. To say: These horrors you are allowing to happen, they will come to your doorstep one day; to repeat the famous phrase about who they came for first and who they'll come for next. But this appeal cannot, in matter of fact, work. If the people well served by a system that condones such butchery ever truly believed the same butchery could one day be inflicted on them, they'd tear the system down tomorrow. And anyway, by the time such a thing happens, the rest of us will already be dead. No, there is no terrible thing coming for you in some distant future, but know that a terrible thing is happening to you now. You are being asked to kill off a part of you that would otherwise scream in opposition to injustice. You are being asked to dismantle the machinery of a functioning conscience. Who cares if diplomatic expediency prefers you shrug away the sight of dismembered children? Who cares if great distance from the bloodstained middle allows obliviousness. Forget pity, forget even the dead if you must, but at least fight against the theft of your soul.

One of many moments in Omar El Akkad’s new book, “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This,” that will stop you in your tracks.

“I have always believed that my duty is not only to liberate myself from the oppressor, but also to liberate my oppressors from their hatred and fear.”

Mahmoud Khalil’s words for us all, as he spends the last few days of Ramadan in prison.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Fragile, Flooded South Sudan Asks: What About Those With Disabilities? The idea that the world is becoming a better place, and there are less and less needs in terms of humanitarian aid, is over.”

"Globally, 84% of people with disabilities lack a personal preparedness plan for disasters, according to the United Nations, which makes them a very vulnerable group, especially in a contentious region like South Sudan." Uprooter Kang-Chun Cheng for @thexylom.com

thexylom.com/post/as-sout...

Citi, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley have all pulled out of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance this week.

The global alliance, which is backed by the UN, is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo also left the group last month.

Pakistan and Bahamas join push for global pact to phase out fossil fuels Climate-vulnerable pair add weight to proposed treaty seeking transition from coal, oil and gas in equitable way

“Momentum is without question growing… once the negotiations start, it will be a major signal to the fossil fuel industry.” @fossiltreaty.bsky.social president Kumi Naidoo on Pakistan and the Bahamas endorsing our treaty.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

An investigation by The BMJ shows the extent of the fossil fuel industry’s involvement in medical research, leading to fresh calls for academics and publishing companies to cut ties with such companies
www.bmj.com/content/387/...

‘It’s not drought - it’s looting’: the Spanish villages where people are forced to buy back their own drinking water Spain is increasingly either parched or flooded – and one group is profiting from these extremes: the water-grabbing multinational companies forcing angry citizens to pay for it in bottles

Spain is increasingly either parched or flooded – and water-grabbing multinationals are profiting by forcing citizens to pay for it in bottles.

Under capitalism, even climate collapse is just another profit opportunity. That's why it isn't being tackled.
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Santander arranged billion-dollar oil bond after making green pledge HSBC also helped on refinery deal that will boost Amazon oil production

Earlier this year, we published this report on how major European banks helped coordinate a bond that raised $1bn for PetroPerú, which sought funds to upgrade its Talara refinery and expand its capacity to process oil from the Amazon.

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2024...

Indigenous leaders travel to UK from Peru to draw attention to oil damage and banking Indigenous leaders from the Wampis Nation in Peru are urging lawmakers at the House of Commons in London to ban international banks’ support for Amazon oil activities they say harm their ancestral rai...

A privilege to see our @tbij.bsky.social reporting used in parliament, by Indigenous leaders from the Wampis Nation in Peru, to urge U.K. politicians to ban international banks’ support for Amazon oil activities they say harm their ancestral rainforests.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/1...

Companies behind campaign to ‘end plastic waste’ produced 1,000 times more plastic than it cleaned up The Alliance to End Plastic Waste spent five years clearing up the amount of plastic its key oil and chemical members produce in two days

Five years ago, as campaigners fought to get a global plastic treaty off the ground, 30 companies involved in plastic – from Exxon to Veolia – got together to launch a $1.5 billion organisation to “end plastic waste”.

So how have they been doing? 🧵

#INC5

unearthed.greenpeace.org/2024/11/20/a...

Multilateral banks are key to financing the fight against global warming. Here is how they work International mega banks, funded by taxpayer dollars, are the biggest, fastest-growing source of climate finance for the developing world.

Eye-opening read on how multilateral banks have huge power to provide climate finance for clean solutions to developing countries, yet still keep many hooked on fossil fuels.

In 2018, an arm of the world bank loaned $105m towards rehabilitating coal plants in India.

apnews.com/article/cop2...

How Forced Labor and Hysterectomies Are Darkly Linked in India Our correspondent explains how an exploitative labor system has produced a system of brutality in the country’s sugar fields.

Our correspondent explains how an exploitative labor system has produced a system of brutality in India’s sugar fields.

Hello from a fellow freelancer! 👋🏽

‘A little dirty’: inside the secret world of McKinsey, the firm hooked on fossil fuels Interviews and analysis of court documents show how the world’s most prestigious consulting firm quietly helps fuel the climate crisis

NEW | Our major new investigation reveals how McKinsey & Company is helping to boost fossil fuel production and use around the world, while at the same time claiming to be a climate ally.

www.theguardian.com/business/202...

👋🏽

Trump’s Energy Shakeup Will Spare Carbon Capture The US president-elect’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency has embraced CCS technology.

How do we know carbon capture is a climate problem masquerading as a solution that serves to further enrich the oil industry?

One way is look at the data. Another way is to note that it’s the only part of Biden’s Infrastructure Act likely to survive in 2025.

www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...