Simon Jessop and Jake Spring by Toby Sterling

GLASGOW (Reuters). ING, a Dutch lender, has decided not to finance oil and gas trading in Peru due to concerns about the impacts on the Amazonian people living in the Sacred Headwaters area (NASDAQ:) according to Reuters.

This is an extension of the company’s policy, which was established after similar funding in Ecuador had been stopped earlier this year. Credit Suisse After pressure from campaigners, BNP Paribas (OTC) was renamed (SIX:).

Because of its large amount of greenhouse gases, scientists believe that conserving Amazon rainforest is crucial to preventing catastrophic climate change. The forest is being rapidly destroyed with disastrous consequences for biodiversity and climate.

After a study by Stand.earth, and Amazon Watch that examined oil exports from this region to the United States, the role of European lenders in supporting the Amazon trade was brought into question in August 2020.

ING’s action comes just as global climate policymakers are meeting in Scotland, aiming for faster global mitigation of global warming.

Although ING did no direct financing of oil and gas exploration in the country, the company had previously financed its exporters.

The updated policy stated that “Indigenous communities living in the Sacred Headwaters of Amazon in Ecuador or Peru have asked banks to cease financing oil development in this region as it threatens them and their surrounding ecosystem.”

“We have funded the oil trading from the region but we decided at the start of 2021 to not enter into any new export contracts from Ecuador. We also decided, in November 2021, not to enter in to export contracts from Peru.”

Reuters received a statement from ING stating that it had revised its policy (which is available online at its website) on Nov. However, he refused to disclose details regarding the bank’s financial exposure within the region.

As of mid-September 2012, Peru was the Amazon country with the highest deforestation. It trails Brazil which is much bigger, non-profit Amazon Conservation.

The Peruvian Amazon lost 19,700 hectares (or 7,600 sq. miles) between 2002 and 2019. This is an area that was 12 times larger than London.

Tyson Miller from Stand.earth welcomed the bank’s decision and said that he hoped more exclusion policies would be implemented in advance of the next round global biodiversity talks.

He encouraged companies to create broader Amazon exclusions policies to cover all activities that cause deforestation such as illegal logging to clear land for agricultural purposes.

(Reported in Glasgow by Jake Spring and Simon Jessop, respectively; Toby Sterling, Amsterdam: Edited in Katy Daigle, Alex Richardson.