Agents of Behemoth

LONDON (Reuters) – Banks have provided $1.7 trillion of finance to 40 companies in the plastics supply chain without imposing any requirements to tackle plastic pollution pouring into the world’s rivers and oceans, according to a report published on Thursday.

With European and U.S. banks increasingly spurning the most polluting fossil fuel projects to help slow climate change, campaigners want lenders to take a similar approach to plastics by making loans conditional on measures to boost recycling. 

Romania is set to soften a controversial ‘greed tax’ on banks next week, shortly before the first payment would kick in, according to the country’s finance minister.