This reporting project investigates the obscure relationship between green finance, coal and nickel mining causing deforestation in Indonesia, and the automotive industry in Europe.
Several banks and other financial institutions invest in European funds labeled as green, but they also invest in Indonesian and European culprits of deforestation driven by electric cars.
Road transport accounts for a large share of global carbon emissions, which contribute to the climate crisis. Electric vehicles are considered a key element of decarbonization, but deforestation due to the extraction of coal and nickel to produce EV batteries leads to the destruction of ecosystems and the livelihoods of local communities that depend on the depleted natural resources.
Green finance is intended, in principle, to divert investments from environmentally and socially harmful activities and channel them into more sustainable operations. However, most green funds still invest in unsustainable businesses.
Photo caption: A Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Image by Tobias Arhelger/Shutterstock.
