Money Makes The World Go Hot – Climate Litigation Against Banks?

Abstract

Many industrial projects with detrimental effects on the environment and the climate require borrowed capital; which brings the financing banks into the spotlight of climate activism. This is not entirely new, and soft law instruments such as the Equator Principles and the unep fi Principles for Responsible Banking have long recognised the financial industry’s responsibility for environmental protection and, more recently, climate protection. As activism is moving towards litigation, this article explores whether financing banks could be successfully sued to omit the financing of a detrimental project, or to pay for protection against climate risks where they have already done so.