ING reacts to Friends of the Earth announcement
Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie) announced today that they hold ING liable for alleged contribution to climate change and threaten to initiate legal proceedings against ING.
Read the full press release
Climate change is one of the world’s biggest challenges. That's why sustainability is part of our overall strategic direction.
As society transitions to a low-carbon economy, about 80% of energy used globally today is still fossil-fuel based. So even though we finance a lot of sustainable activities, we still finance more that’s not sustainable. That is a reflection of the current global economy.
“We're in regular dialogue with a variety of stakeholders, including Friends of the Earth Netherlands,” said Arnaud Cohen Stuart, head of Business Ethics. “We're confident that we take impactful action to fight climate change. We will of course respond in court if necessary.”
Our approach is based on science, and we adapt it as the (insights based on) science evolve. For example, we announced in December that we'd phase out the financing of upstream oil and gas activities by 2040 and aim to triple new financing of renewable power generation to €7.5 billion annually by 2025, up from €2.5 billion in 2022, following the agreements made at COP28 and the latest scenarios from the International Energy Agency. It’s all about working towards net zero by 2050.
See more information about our climate action strategy.