The ECB building in Frankfurt, Germany (illustration).

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imageBROKER.com/SIPA

The buybacks of private debts carried out by the European Central Bank (ECB) favor too many polluting companies.

This is the conclusion of a study presented on Tuesday by Greenpeace.

The ECB's portfolio indeed shows "a significant imbalance in favor of businesses and industries harmful to the climate", indicates the NGO, which conducted this study with several British universities and the New Economics Foundation (NEF) think tank.

According to the report, 63% of corporate bonds bought back by the ECB come from sectors that use fossil fuels or consume a lot of energy.

[BREAKING] New report exposes @ecb supports to carbon intensive industries in its bond purchasing program, including companies such as @Shell, @Total, @Eni and @ omv. # ClimateDisaster #PeopleNotPollutershttps: //t.co/cDlqWsjNXs pic.twitter .com / 1bIOHIhGOt

- Greenpeace (@Greenpeace) October 20, 2020

Go towards a "green European financial system"

In 2015, the ECB launched a massive debt buyback program to inject liquidity into the economy.

These buybacks respect a principle of “neutrality”: the securities are acquired according to their duration, volume and financial rating, but the environmental criterion is not taken into account.

The ECB thus created 2.800 billion euros in money and now holds around 242 billion euros in securities.

"The ECB needs a new direction more respectful of the climate", pleads, in a press release, a financial expert of Greenpeace.

“It must align its monetary policy as quickly as possible with the climate objectives of the Paris Agreement and thus lay the framework for a green European financial system.

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This Monday, the President of the ECB Christine Lagarde explained to the 

> World that

 she would "try to train the Governing Council" of the ECB to "at least agree to question the legitimate action of a bank central to participate in the fight against climate change ”.

This subject is one of the themes that the Frenchwoman wishes to integrate into the vast project of "strategic review" of the ECB's mandate.

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