Goldman Sachs’ Nov 2019 updated environmental policy makes it first major U.S. bank to rule out financing new or expanding thermal coal mines and coal-fired power plants *worldwide* and “any transaction that directly supports new upstream Arctic oil exploration or development. This includes but is not limited to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.” | Ernst v. EnCana CorporationErnst v. EnCana Corporation

Unfortunately, Goldman Sachs enables the endless environmental and economical harms caused by hydraulic fracturing and Alberta’s tarsands, this from their updated policy:

Oil & Gas – Hydraulic Fracturing: The rapid expansion of hydraulic fracturing has contributed to the expansion of energy resources, particularly in the U.S., along with greater affordability of energy for consumers and industry, job creation and economic growth. But it has also come with increasing concerns [Why ignore the many lawsuits -just because they settle and gag, does not mean they didn’t exist; phenomenal damages caused by frac’ing directly causing earthquakes and by frac waste disposal; many proven water contamination cases; public health harm and premature deaths; air pollution, land and food pollution, many horrific worker fatalities; communities losing their entire safe water supplies, home and water well explosions caused by industry’s frac’ing leaking gases hospitalizing and killing people and destroying homes, pump houses, even rendering medical buildings too dangerous to use or inhabit; etc etc etc!?] related to water consumption, impact on water quality, wastewater disposal methods, potential seismic impacts, air emissions (including methane) and local community impacts.

 For transactions involving new unconventional oil & gas and hydraulic fracturing, we apply enhanced due diligence, including understanding companies’ strategy and commitment to reducing overall GHG emissions. Key issues to be addressed include but are not limited to: companies’ care taken on location and site selection; well construction method, including integrity of casing and cementing; management of ongoing operations, including well flow and pressure monitoring; integrated water management, including groundwater testing [But, only after community/farm/family water supplies have been contaminated by frac’ing, enabling fraud by companies and regualtors?], water withdrawal [why leave out the 25-75% permanent water loss from the hydrogeological cycle?], wastewater management [what about toxic drill cutting management, aka dumping?]; fracking fluid usage and disclosure [many added toxic chemicals are still kept secret, enabled by courts, regulators, politicians, and banks like Goldman Sachs; air emissions management [aka cover-up, lying, cover-up, lying and cover-up, lying some more? That’s about all the frac emissions/pollution/public health harm “management” out there], including fugitive methane emissions and use of flaring and venting; [Why avoid the known deadly radon gas increases caused by frac’ing and radioactive leachate/dumping into waterways, thereby into municpal drinking water supplies, in frac fields across North America, and the increases cancers and other health harms being investigated? TOO MUCH RISK AND LEGAL LIABILITY TO PUT THESE IN WRITING AND OR IN THEIR POLICIES?] and engagement with and mitigation of impacts on the local community.

Oil & Gas – Oil Sands: Oil sands, also known as tar sands [WOW, BRAVO GOLDMAN SACHS, IMPRESSIVE! How many shreeking phone calls did the bank get from oil company CEOs and oilpatch PR ‘n spin machines like Jason Kenney’s War Room for daring to call the tarsands what industry calls them?] or bituminous sands, are sandstone or carbonate formations containing a naturally occurring viscous form of petroleum (bitumen) with large deposits found in Canada’s Province of Alberta. In many cases, significant amounts of energy and water are necessary to extract and upgrade bitumen, and there is a potential [!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BIG FAIL AGAIN GOLDMAN SACHS! “Potential?” Entire forests have already been wiped out with the tiny bits of remediated land a farce – native trees planted die in the toxic crud; rare cancers hitting local communities at alarming rates, toxic chemicals and waste water leaking for years into the Athabasca River; massive climate change enhanced or caused wildfires raged out of control, destroying much of Tarsands Town, Ft McMurray; not one company is heeding the AER’s regulations to clean up the massive toxic waste lakes – comanies don’t have any idea of how to clean them up with the only plan so far to rape, pillage, profit and run via planned/intentional bankruptcies (The Great Escape) and hang taxpayers, and endless future generations of taxpayers, with them; wildlife, water fowl, migratory birds have been killed by the toxic waste water; workers have been killed by corporate greed and ruthlessness; groundwater has been proven contaminated by CNRL’s steam injection and greed-induced bitumen leaks to surface like those caused by Chevron in California leading to the state banning new frac’ing and steam injection, etc., etc., etc.], for impacts on boreal forests and local communities.

 For transactions relating to oil sands, we apply enhanced due diligence, including understanding companies’ strategy [RAPE, PILLAGE, PROFIT AND RUN?] and commitment to reducing overall GHG emissions. Among factors, we consider: energy use and GHG emissions; environmental impacts related to integrated water and waste management; forest and biodiversity preservation; and any local community impacts, including those relating to Canada’s First Nations people.

Media coverage includes:

Earther: Alaska Natives Demanded Goldman Sachs Not Fund Arctic Drilling—And It Listened

The Guardian: Goldman Sachs to stop financing new drilling for oil in the Arctic

CNN: Goldman Sachs is first big US bank to rule out loans for Arctic drilling

Bloomberg: Goldman Sachs Curbs New Lending on Coal and Arctic Oil

HuffPost: Goldman Sachs Is The First Major U.S. Bank To Reject Financing Arctic Oil Drilling

MarketWatch: Goldman Sachs becomes first major U.S. bank to stop funding Arctic drilling, pulls back on coal

ABC News: Goldman Sachs becomes 1st major US bank to pledge no funding for new Arctic drilling

Axios: Goldman Sachs moves away from financing coal and Arctic oil

CNBC: Goldman Sachs to spend $750 billion on climate transition projects and curb fossil fuel lending

E&E News: Goldman Sachs bows out of Arctic drilling

The Hill: Goldman Sachs says it won’t finance new coal mines or Arctic drilling