Environmentalists urge French bank not to finance Texas fracking project
Environmentalists urge French bank not to finance Texas fracking project
Activist points to ‘hypocrisy’ in BNP Paribas’s involvement in south Texas export terminal, given bank’s claimed commitment to the environment
Tom Dart in Houston
@Tom_Dart
Thursday 2 March 2017 09.26 EST
Environmental groups have called on a French bank not to help finance a fracked-gas export terminal planned for south Texas.
A report released on Wednesday urges BNP Paribas and its US subsidiary, Bank of the West, to state it will not finance any projects for liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and to adopt a policy of not backing LNG export schemes. One of the proposals, the Texas LNG terminal, would be built on 1,000 acres of land, potentially making it the largest facility of its kind in the country.
“It’s a destructive fossil fuel infrastructure project in the Gulf coast in one of the relatively untouched parts,” said Jason Opeña Disterhoft of the Rainforest Action Network.
He said there “is some hypocrisy” in BNP’s involvement given that the company touts its green credentials. In the wake of the 2015 Paris agreement to address climate change, the bank said it was committed to responsible investment, such as financing renewable energy rather than coalmining, and minimising atmospheric pollution as a result of its business activities.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/02/texas-fracking-bnp-paribas-environment