Bank classed loan as green financing despite Shell continuing to invest in oil and gas
Barclays is using its “sustainable finance” initiatives to fund Shell, amid rising concern from regulators about “greenwashing” by banks.
The lender has classified a $10bn revolving credit facility that it created for Shell as “social and environmental financing”, The Telegraph can reveal, raising renewed questions about the impact of the “Environmental, Social, and Governance” investing movement.
Barclays counted its share of the loan towards meeting a target to deliver $150bn in social and environmental financing, according to analysis of the bank’s loan classification framework.
Shell’s borrowing was eligible because the fees and interest rate were linked to progress towards reaching its carbon intensity target. The company aims to reduce the carbon intensity of the energy products it sells by between 9 and 13 per cent by 2025 compared to 2016 levels.