The release of the report Banking on Climate Chaos 2025 was a somber reminder that the fossil-fuel engine of global pollution through greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions remains steadily in high gear. This report revealed that in 2025 the 65 largest banks had committed to loans of $869 billion to companies involved in the extraction and production of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal).

Four of the top five lenders are U.S. corporations (JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo — all doing business in Maine), alone accounting for $184 billion of that total, or approximately 21%. The report goes on to show that U.S. and Canadian banks together accounted for 48% of the total.

What is perhaps most disturbing in this report is the fact that fossil-fuel lending has not abated since 2016 when world nations, including the U.S., almost unanimously signed the Paris Agreement to curtail fossil-fuel extraction and production through national targets on limiting GHG emissions. Only three nations of nearly 200 have not signed this accord. The U.S. withdrew in 2020 in President Trump’s first term, rejoined in 2021 under President Biden, and has again withdrawn in 2025 under President Trump.

In the near decade of this accord being active, banks have continued to support the industry that made the Paris Agreement a necessary counter. We can say that, effectively, major banks have ignored this accord, steadily fanning the fire of global warming. United Nations General Secretary Antonio Guterres did not mince words in 2023 when he warned that “the era of global warming has ended” and “the era of global boiling has arrived.”

The capital lent to these fossil-fuel corporations will enable energy extraction from Earth’s resources on a decadal time scale. The consequent production of fossil fuels for homes, businesses, industry and transportation will inevitably follow without curtailment, making adherence to the Paris Agreement impossible while global temperatures continue their upward climb. The offending banks have committed these loans with a desired return in mind and will certainly pursue whatever strategy that makes sure those loans are repaid with interest. Thus the fossil-fuel engine keeps running.

Rather than continuing to support the fossil-fuel industry, the world needs to be dismantling it in order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Although we have learned that fossil-fuel resources are more abundant than ever believed decades ago, we also know that renewable energy resources like solar and wind are limitless as long as the sun shines on Earth. They are not just limitless resources, but now competitively priced against fossil fuels in most situations.

Indeed, an important benchmark called the Levelized Cost of Energy shows that solar and wind are better long-term investments for generation of electrical power than coal or oil and roughly equal to natural. For the transportation industry, the change to electric vehicles would reduce costs for individuals and businesses while reducing GHG emissions, as described in the report by the National Resources Defense Council.

In fact, renewable energy development is now showing its competitiveness. The International Energy Agency reports that 80% of new electrical generation capacity across the globe in 2024 was due to renewable resources. These are technologically mature resources. Wind turbines and solar panels have been in operation for electrical production for decades now, and their combination now with battery storage promises a new paradigm for an energy economy free of GHG emissions while delivering electrical power at lesser cost to consumers.

Financial institutions need to put our long-term sustainability ahead of the short-term prospects of the fossil fuel industry. We must not let the fossil-fuel and bank-lending nexus provide for our energy future.

Such a realization will surely entail extreme climate changes and all the adverse impacts that it will cause, the signs of which we have already seen in Maine with coastal erosion, inland flooding, hotter days and warmer nights. Maine savers’ funds can go to responsible institutions rather than supporting the big banks that are funding climate chaos.