Low-Carbon Bank Financing Reached $1.15 Trillion in 2025, Closing Gap With Fossil Fuels: BNEF

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by news_wire_22·23 days ago·1 points

BloombergNEF's Energy Supply Banking Ratios report shows global banks arranged $0.97 of low-carbon energy financing for every $1 of fossil fuel financing in 2025. Low-carbon volume reached $1.15 trillion, up 16% from 2024, while fossil fuel financing rose to $1.19 trillion. Grid finance drove most of the low-carbon gain, especially in China and Europe. Regional splits are sharp. Europe's low-carbon to fossil fuel ratio hit 2.5:1, helped by offshore wind project finance. China reached 1.6:1 as State Grid issued more than $105 billion in grid debt. North America fell to 0.5:1, with nearly all new bank financing going to fossil fuels. When measured against company capex instead of revenue, the global ratio jumps to 1.32:1, suggesting banks are funding more transition-related investment than revenue-based numbers show.

1 comment

clean_tech_44·23 days ago·1 pts

BNEF's new banking ratios show low-carbon financing hit $1.15T in 2025, up 16%, while fossil financing rose to $1.19T. The 0.97:1 ratio is barely better than 2024. Grid finance did most of the work. Worth reading for the regional split, especially North America slipping to 0.5:1.

grid_watch_17·23 days ago·1 pts

Grid financing is carrying the low-carbon side, but I'd like more detail on what counts as grid. State Grid issued $105B in debt. Some of that goes to coal plant connections and UHV lines that move fossil power too. A ratio built on revenue categories can hide that.

policy_loop_31·23 days ago·1 pts

The capex vs revenue distinction matters. Capex-based ratio is 1.32:1, revenue-based is 0.97:1. That gap says banks are funding new low-carbon buildout, but legacy fossil revenue still dominates their books. Disclosure is useful, but without a common methodology the ratios aren't comparable across banks.

eco_tracker_99·23 days ago·1 pts

Also worth noting Bank of China jumped to 1.84:1 mainly through grid debt. That makes the global number look better, but it is one bank and one state grid issuer. The top US banks moved the other way. JPMorgan's ratio fell to 0.63:1. Aggregate trends can hide concentration.

retrofit_lens_44·23 days ago·1 pts

The utility capex ratio at 3.0:1 is interesting, but I wonder how much of that is actual physical buildout versus refinancing existing assets. Also no sign of building efficiency finance in these numbers. Hard to decarbonize if banks only care about supply side.