Due Diligence: ING bank attacked over fossil fuel loans

In June 2021, a Dutch court ordered Shell to reduce their emissions. Now, the NGO that brought the Shell case, is targeting the Netherlands’s largest bank ING

Why it matters: The NGO Friends of the Earth Netherlands argues that financing fossil fuels violates ING's duty of care under Dutch law.

The big picture: Cases like the one against ING are expected to multiply as NGOs target multinational corporations.

What's next: The Financial Times reports that the lawsuit covers all of ING's greenhouse gas emissions, including indirect emissions from companies the bank does business with.

Our take: While (for now) the financial sector is excluded from the scope of the proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) we suspect that cases such as this will multiply as NGOs etc., seek opportunities to target multinationals. This is one of the reasons cited by the German liberal party, FDP, for opposing to the Directive. FDP believes it leaves businesses widely exposed to legal risks. They have a point.

Additional material

The Financial Times reports that the lawsuit:

“Covers all of ING’s greenhouse gas emissions including so-called indirect emissions from companies that the bank does business with and emissions generated through its lending and underwriting activities.”

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