Overview
Banking on Climate Chaos Coalition (BOCC) is a collaborative initiative focused on monitoring and reporting financial flows from major global banks to the fossil fuel industry. It is known for producing the Banking on Climate Chaos annual report, which analyses lending and underwriting by the world’s largest banks to companies involved in coal, oil, and gas. BOCC seeks to increase transparency around fossil fuel finance and inform public discourse on climate risk in the financial sector. The coalition’s activities date back to the early 2000s and have evolved into a recognised source of data on bank fossil fuel financing. Its publications are used internationally by civil society groups and researchers concerned with climate change impacts of financial sector behaviour.
Mission and focus areas
BOCC’s core mission is to expose and challenge ongoing financing of fossil fuel expansion by major banks. It aims to provide evidence-based data that highlights discrepancies between banks’ climate pledges and their actual financing practices. Through robust analysis, BOCC highlights trends in fossil fuel bank financing and the implications for global climate goals. The coalition’s thematic focus areas include tracking fossil fuel lending and underwriting, assessing policy commitments versus real finance outcomes, and advocating for stronger alignment of financial institutions’ practices with climate objectives such as limiting global warming in line with the Paris Agreement.
Structure and governance
BOCC operates as a coalition of multiple civil society organisations rather than a single legal entity. It is authored and coordinated by a group of environmental and justice organisations, including Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International, Reclaim Finance, Sierra Club, and Urgewald. This collaborative structure allows members to contribute research, analysis, and outreach toward shared objectives. Leadership is distributed across these partner organisations, and the coalition publishes outputs under a unified BOCC banner.
Programs and offerings
BOCC’s principal output is its annual Banking on Climate Chaos report, which provides detailed data on bank financing of fossil fuels, including rankings and trend analysis. These reports include comprehensive datasets, methodological details, and policy narratives relevant for sustainability practitioners and finance professionals. Additional resources include downloadable data sets and methodology documentation that support independent analysis of fossil fuel finance patterns. The coalition’s publications are widely referenced in media coverage of climate finance and used to inform advocacy and policy engagements.
