Hot Money:40 financial institutions are funding a climate-changing agri-methane footprint - Video

40 financial institutions are responsible for funding a methane footprint that could exceed 500 Mt CO2e – nearly as big as the CO2 emissions of Saudi Arabia, says a new report from financial think tank Planet Tracker and Changing Markets Foundation.

Hot Money names the 20 investors and 20 banks currently financing the methane-generating activities of fifteen leading meat and dairy companies worldwide, identified in terms of equity ownership, bond ownership and bank lending.

All were found to have weak or non-existent policy frameworks surrounding the reduction of methane emissions, with a particular gap regarding livestock agriculture – the single largest contributor. This conflicts with the Global Methane Pledge signed by all but one of the institutions’ home countries.

• Methane is 80 times more potent than CO2 in terms of its global warming potential (over 20-years).
• Reducing methane emissions is crucial to limiting global heating to 1.5˚C.
• Food production generates more methane than the energy system.
• If asset managers want to achieve net zero in their portfolios, they need to address the issue of agri-methane.