A new report by Oil Change International and Rainforest Action Network shows how major banks have continued pouring money into fracking companies in recent years despite numerous warnings that the sector was financially unsustainable — on top of the well-documented environmental, health and climate impacts of the industry.
Fracking Fiasco reveals that financing for the fracking industry is highly concentrated, with Wells Fargo the biggest banker of U.S. frackers since the Paris Climate Agreement was adopted, and JPMorgan Chase a standout second place. The fracking industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, with dozens of bankruptcies so far this year, but its troubles long predate the coronavirus. The 51 U.S. fracking-focused companies analyzed in the report received $224 billion in financing since the Paris Agreement was adopted (1/1/16 — 8/31/20), with almost 40% of that financing coming from JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo alone.