|
The
British lender extended a previously announced plan to phase out
financing for clients involved in coal-fired power generation by
2030 from the UK and European Union, to include other countries
in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Banks globally have been detailing their plans to cut emissions
and keep a lid on the rise in global temperatures, but
environmental campaigners accuse them of moving too slowly and
have called on them to stop financing new oil and gas drilling.
Announcing results for 2022, Barclays said it will stop
financing all oil tar sands companies, as well as new oil sands
pipelines, whereas previously it had said it would work with
those firms undertaking efforts to reduce their emissions.
However, some environmental activists had hoped the bank would
announce a new policy on financing for oil and gas, after HSBC
said in December it would stop direct funding new oil and gas
fields.
Barclays also set its first emission-cutting target for the
automotive manufacturing industry, with a pledge to reduce
emissions intensity by between 40% and 64% by 2030 against a
2022 baseline.
For the residential real estate sector, Barclays set a
"convergence point" of reducing emissions by 40% by 2030, which
it said was not a target because decarbonising UK homes was
dependent on wider changes beyond its control.
The bank said it was on track to meet its 2030 targets with
reductions in financed emissions for industries including
energy, power and steel.
The absolute emissions generated by its energy clients have
dropped 32% since 2020, putting it on track for a 40% reduction
by 2030, but the bank acknowledged this was helped by cash-rich
energy customers needing less finance in 2022.
(Reporting by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes; Editing by David Holmes)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
