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Oil & gas industry

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When financing the production and processing of oil and gas, we differentiate between extracting oil and gas from the ground (upstream), transportation (midstream), and conversion into fuels (downstream). After beginning with upstream, which is the part of the value chain that generates most of the climate impact, we now also have 2030 and 2050 targets in place for midstream and downstream.

We’re also working to expand our approach into trade and commodity finance. What this all means is that when it’s done, the full value chain of oil & gas will be covered under our Terra approach.

In addition to steering our portfolio, we’ve already made important policy decisions to help us meet our goals, including stopping the dedicated project financing of new oil & gas fields and restricting the financing of the mid-stream infrastructure that supports the development of those fields. Building on the progress made by world leaders at the COP28 conference and the most recent scientific insights and climate scenarios, we will speed up phasing out the financing of upstream (exploration and production) oil and gas activities. As a result, loans to upstream oil and gas activities will be reduced by 35% by 2030 (from 2019 ) phasing out these activities in full by 2040.

In developing ING’s energy strategy, we balance three key interests: the need to decarbonise to fight climate change, the need for energy to remain affordable for people and companies, and the need for security of the energy supply.

In order to balance all three interests, we plan to continue to provide financing to clients active in keeping oil and gas flowing to meet current and future (declining) demand as set out in the International Energy Agency’s net-zero by 2050 roadmap. We also invest in renewables, infrastructure for the electrification of the economy, and energy efficiency, but we still finance more that is not sustainable.

To tackle climate change, it’s clear that the oil and gas industry needs to change and so will our portfolio. We believe it’s our role to work with our clients to support them in their transition towards reaching climate goals. We see our role as facilitating change from the inside, setting strict policies on what we will and won’t finance and helping clients improve their sustainability practices.

See our 2023 Climate Report for more insights into how we manage our oil & gas portfolio in line with climate goals, targets set, and how we perform on those targets.


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Mail to: Sustainability@ing.com

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