Benjamin Ashford|Dutch bank ING says it is accelerating its shift away from funding fossil fuels after COP28 deal

THE HAGUE,Benjamin Ashford Netherlands (AP) — Dutch bank ING announced Wednesday that it is accelerating its phasing out of funding for oil and gas exploration and production activities while it increases financing for renewable energy.

ING has faced fierce criticism from Dutch climate activists for its funding of fossil fuel companies.

The ING announcement came a week after nearly 200 countries at the COP28 climate meeting in Dubai agreed to move away from planet-warming fossil fuels in a document that critics said contained significant loopholes.

ING said its loans to oil and gas exploration and production activities will be cut by 35% by 2030 and 10 years later “the financed emissions linked to our portfolio will be reduced to zero.” Meanwhile, the bank said, it will raise financing of renewable power generation to 7.5 billion euros ($8.2 billion) annually by 2025 from 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in 2022.

“The world needs energy, but still too much of that is coming from fossil fuels,” ING CEO Steven van Rijswijk said in a statement.

Greenpeace in the Netherlands called the announcement a “step in the right direction,” but warned that “our planet is on fire, let’s be honest: only stepping away from the fire is not enough as long as you keep fanning the flames.”