Workshop: B134 Regulating finance for a future free of fossil fuels

Capital requirements, windfall taxes, and fighting corporate lobbying with the power of the people

Stopping the proliferation of fossil fuels means stopping their financing. EU regulation of the financial sector must be used to make it almost impossible for banks to lend money to fossil fuel companies. How do you build a movement to achieve this?

Since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, Big Finance has blocked significant regulation. What’s more, it is greenwashing itself as the hero of sustainability, pretending to fund the climate transition while continuing to be the backbone of the fossil fuel industry.

The fight against the financing of fossil fuels has come a long way–coal projects are becoming uninsurable, pension funds are divesting big oil companies, and the call for an outright ban on investments in fossil fuel infrastructure is growing louder every day. Targeting individual financial institutions has been a powerful strategy, but we need a system change through financial regulation.

This session will provide an overview of how we can regulate finance to serve the planet and people, debunk the so-called “sustainable finance” agenda, and highlight which measures can potentially change the game at scale.

This in-depth dialogue between activists and researchers will help develop strategies to mobilise the people to bring finance under control, with a specific focus on the EU.