Financial giants continue pumping billions into forest destruction despite climate promises

Ten years after world leaders signed the Paris Climate Agreement, major banks and investment firms are actually increasing their financial support for companies that destroy forests, according to a damning new report from the Forests & Finance Coalition.

The findings reveal a stark contradiction between public climate commitments and private investment decisions. Since 2015, when nearly 200 countries pledged to combat climate change, financial institutions have poured an additional $8 billion into companies involved in deforestation-linked industries including cattle ranching, soy farming, palm oil production, and paper manufacturing. Today, investors hold $42 billion in bonds and shares across more than 191 companies identified as posing risks to forests worldwide.

The report singles out some of the world’s largest financial players. Malaysian state-owned funds Permodalan Nasional Berhad and Employees Provident Fund top the investor list alongside U.S. giant Vanguard. Meanwhile, banks led by Brazil’s Banco do Brasil, Sicredi, and Bradesco have dramatically escalated their support, providing $429 billion in loans and underwriting to over 300 forest-risk companies—a staggering 35% increase between 2016 and 2024.

“A decade after the Paris Agreement, we see little to no action from banks and investors to stop the money pipeline to tropical forest destruction,” warns Merel van der Mark, the coalition’s coordinator. The research exposes how voluntary climate commitments have failed to translate into meaningful action, suggesting that mandatory regulations may be the only way to redirect financial flows away from activities that accelerate deforestation and climate change.