Whatever the courts decide, the three non-governmental organisations (NGOs) suing BNP Paribas for failing to take sufficient action to end fossil fuel financing probably consider that they have already won, say lawyers from Linklaters, thanks to the publicity the case has generated and the increased pressure on banks to align policies with climate science. Banks that greenwash or whose actions appear not to meet due diligence laws are almost certain to face similar legal action, they warn.
In February, Friends of the Earth France, Oxfam France and Notre Affaire à Tous announced they were taking France’s biggest bank – the world’s largest funder of European and US oil and gas majors – to court under France’s Corporate Duty of Vigilance Law. Introduced in 2017, the law requires large companies to identify and prevent risks to human rights and the environment. As the world’s first climate lawsuit against a commercial bank, the case has received significant media coverage.
