HSBC to end coal financing by 2040 after facing pressure from investors
- Lender to phase out financing for mining, coal-fired power plants in Europe, OECD countries by 2030
- HSBC pledged in October to reduce carbon emissions in its portfolio to net zero by 2050
HSBC said on Thursday that it would end financing of coal mining and coal-fired power plants in the European Union and countries that make up the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) by 2030, and a decade later elsewhere, following pressure from investors.
The London-based bank said it would propose a special resolution on climate change and outline its ambitions to reduce carbon emissions to net zero in its loan portfolio by 2050, at its annual meeting in May.
The bank, the largest of Hong Kong’s three currency-issuing lenders, said it would set a “clear, science-based” strategy with short and medium-term targets to align its lending to goals set out as part of the Paris Agreement on climate change. It will also report on its progress beginning with the 2021 annual report next February.