Dive Brief:

• A group of shareholders called on Barclays to pull back its financing for fracking operations in North America and “close the loopholes” in its energy policy during the bank’s annual general meeting Thursday.
• The request was put forward by a group of 24 investors representing $1.24 trillion in assets under management collectively. The petition, organized by responsible investment nonprofit ShareAction, asked Barclays to impose “explicit restrictions” on providing financial support for companies focused on fossil fuel extraction.
• The meeting, which took place in Glasgow, was also disrupted by activists protesting outside the event venue over the bank’s alleged investments in Israeli arms companies. The bank previously said it was neither a shareholder nor an investor in defense companies that supply arms to Israel, and only trades shares in such companies on behalf of clients.

Dive Insight:

The ShareAction-sponsored letter also asked Barclays to make its fracking policy global so it covered regions in North America, where most of its fracking clients are based.

The nonprofit also said it would hand in a petition signed by 3,500 members of the public pushing to halt fracking finance and share testimonials from residents of towns that are affected by the operations of Barclays’ biggest fracking clients, like EQT Corp.

The push to end financing for fossil fuel extraction comes shortly after the London-based bank said it would no longer provide direct financing for any new upstream oil and gas, thermal coal expansion projects or related infrastructure to help achieve its net zero goals.

The bank also revised its climate change statement to require all portfolio energy companies to report information related to their transition plans and decarbonization strategies — including their scoped emissions reductions targets, expansion plans and any low-carbon business activities or plans — by Jan. 1, 2025.

However, ShareAction contended that despite the progress Barclays made on its climate commitments, the bank “continues to leave the door open to pour millions into polluting fossil fuel finance, and particularly worryingly, fracking.”

Barclays told shareholders at the meeting its financing of “short lead fossil expansion” was necessary to facilitate the energy transition in response to concerns voiced over the environmental and social impacts of fracking, according to an emailed statement ESG Dive received from Kelly Shields, ShareAction’s campaign manager.

However, the bank said it would continue to engage with its shareholders and the nonprofit over both fracking and its green finance targets.

The fracking debate comes also as Barclays cuts six bankers from a 100-person energy transition team and two more from a sustainable banking team, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The energy transition team was established just this year to capitalize on the shift away from fossil fuels. But the bank, at the same time, has launched a three-year effort to cut £2 billion in costs and improve shareholder returns.

“These departures are in line with decisions made across other groups and are not a reflection of the strength of our sustainable finance franchise, or our ability to successfully execute against our ambitious plans and deliver for clients,” a spokeswoman for the bank said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg.

Outside the meeting venue, however, protesters questioned the bank’s alleged involvement in manufacturing arms and supplying weapons to Israel.

In the week leading up to the meeting, Barclays refuted claims it had invested in nine defense companies supplying arms to Israel, but noted it was part of its job to offer financial services to thousands of business clients, including “those in the defense sector.”