PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 8, 2025
The release of the report Banking on Climate Chaos 2025 was a somber reminder that the fossil-fuel engine of global pollution through greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions remains steadily in high gear. This report revealed that in 2025 the 65 largest banks had committed to loans of $869 billion to companies involved in the extraction and production of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal). Four of the top five lenders are U.S. corporations (JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo — all doing business in Maine), alone accounting for $184 billion of that total, or approximately 21%. Maine savers’ funds can go to responsible institutions rather than supporting the big banks that are funding climate chaos. ~ David von Seggern, retired earth scientist and volunteer with Maine Chapter of the Sierra Club