“It’s official now. BNP Paribas will have to answer in court of its responsibility in the climate crisis”. Three associations, in a joint press release made public on Thursday, February 23, accuse the bank of having companies in the oil and gas sector as clients.
Oxfam France, Friends of the Earth France and Notre Affaire à Tous announced on Thursday their intention to launch legal action once morest BNP Paribas over its financial support for new fossil fuel projects. They had already put the French bank on notice last October, accusing it of supporting “actively and massively some of the most aggressive groups in oil and gas expansion”.
At the end of January, BNP Paribas pledged to reduce outstanding financing for oil extraction and production to less than one billion euros by 2030, a drop of more than 80% compared to the previous year. outstanding amount of 5 billion euros.
But these commitments were deemed insufficient by the three NGOs who decided to take the bank to court before the Paris court. The lawsuit is the first in the world to target a commercial bank for its activities in the oil and gas sector, the NGOs said.
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Litigation rather than dialogue
“NGOs are taking the litigation route rather than the path of dialogue, which we regret,” BNP Paribas told Archyde.com, which ensures that its exit from fossil fuels “is largely underway”.
As during the formal notice, the angle of attack of the NGOs before the Paris judicial court relates to a possible breach of the “duty of vigilance” – a reason already used for example once morest TotalEnergies, but for the first time once morest a bank.
In practice, a bailiff must appear in the morning at the headquarters of BNP Paribas in order to deliver the summons in good and due form, said François de Cambiaire, associate lawyer at the Seattle firm and counsel for associations.
“Faced with its significant contribution to climate change, the associations are asking BNP Paribas to end its financial support for new fossil energy projects and to adopt an exit plan from oil and gas”, they write once more, calling for a “historic trial”.
Since 2017, the French law on the duty of vigilance requires large companies to take effective measures to prevent human rights and environmental abuses throughout their chain of activity.
“Half the way”…
In a reaction sent to AFP on Wednesday, BNP Paribas said it “regrets” the “litigious path rather than the path of dialogue”.
“We have already done more than half of the way”, commented at the microphone of France Inter the director of corporate engagement of BNP Paribas, Antoine Sire, “since ten years ago we had almost only fossil fuels, today we have 55% essentially renewable low-carbon energy”.
“All the same, stopping financing oil production is an extremely heavy decision,” he added.
The bank had already expressed its “disagreement” with these NGOs, in a letter consulted by AFP on January 26 in response to the formal notice, which called for a response within three months.
Companies “cannot replace the legislator”, then estimated the bank, saying it “deeply disagrees” with the interpretation made of the legislation on the duty of vigilance. An answer “next”, according to the associations.
Historical financier of the industrial sector and energy production, the French bank announced on January 24 new climate commitments by wanting to divide by five by 2030 its financing for the oil extraction and production sector.
With Archyde.com and AFP