Investigative journalists and Rainforest Investigations Network Fellows Bruna Bronoski, Alexander Abdelilah, and Sasha Chavkin explored the complexities of green finance schemes in a compelling discussion moderated by Fernanda Buffa, Pulitzer Center’s program coordinator and research assistant.
The panel opened with Chavkin, who presented his investigative work on corporate greenwashing, featured in Deforestation Connections and Green Loans. He shed light on how so-called "sustainable loans" are granted to companies in heavily polluting industries and explained how journalists can leverage private financial datasets to uncover the hidden ties between banks, corporations, and environmental harm.
Next, Abdelilah delved into his investigation, The Fossil Money Trail in the Amazon, exposing how French banks are fueling oil and gas expansion in the Amazon rainforest. Through in-depth reporting and human-centered storytelling, Abdelilah illustrated how French financial institutions are profiting from environmental destruction, challenging their public commitments to sustainability.
The discussion continued with Bronoski, who unveiled her project, Financial Market: A Black Box Over Green Areas. Her investigation dissects Brazil’s Investment Fund in Agroindustrial Productive Chains (Fiagro), revealing its opaque financial structures and their connection to the exploitation of the Amazon. By unlocking Fiagro’s “black box” of data, Bronoski exposed the fund’s role in land speculation and deforestation.
The panel concluded with an engaging Q&A session, where audience members posed questions about the panelists' methodologies, investigative challenges, and insights into the intersection of finance and environmental destruction, moderated by Buffa.
