HSBC’s $100 bln pledge to combat climate change
View(s):HSBC has pledged US$100 billion in sustainable financing and investment by 2025, one of five new commitments by the global bank to tackle climate change and support sustainable growth in the communities it serves.
The bank will intensify its support for clean energy and lower-carbon technologies, as well as projects that support the implementation of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, the bank said in a media release.
HSBC also pledged to:
Source 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, with an interim target of 90 per cent by 2025. By signing long-term agreements with suppliers, HSBC aims to support the development of new renewable power facilities
Reduce its exposure to thermal coal and actively manage the transition path for other high-carbon sectors. This includes discontinuing financing of new coal-fired power plants in developed markets and of thermal coal mines worldwide
Adopt the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures to improve transparency. In its next two group annual reports, HSBC said it will give more details on its approach to climate-related risks and opportunities
Lead and shape the debate about sustainable finance and investment.
Group Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver said: “The $100 billion commitment that we are announcing acknowledges the scale of the challenge in making a transition to a low-carbon future. We are committed to being a leading global partner to the public and private sectors as they make that transition.”
Meanwhile the bank has continued to improve its own environmental performance in key areas. Over the past year, HSBC has reduced water usage by 9 per cent, carbon emissions by 9 per cent and energy consumption by 13 per cent. It has also signed agreements with clean energy producers to source 24 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources.