LONDON: HSBC, Europe's leading banker to corporate Asia, laid out its long-awaited policy on financing thermal coal on Tuesday, and said it expected all its clients to have a plan in place to exit fossil fuels by the end of 2023.
Coal is contentious for governments across Asia as they look to move away from the cheap and widely used, but carbon-intensive energy source to help meet a global commitment to cut emissions in the fight against climate change.
"We need to tackle some of the hard issues head on. Coal is one of the big issues. It contributes 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions," HSBC Group Chief Sustainability Officer Celine Herweijer said. While HSBC, in common with peers, had previously set out a high-level commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions across its customer base by 2050, activists had criticised the strength and detail of its policies.
The bank said it would next year announce a science-based target for coal-fired power in line with capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial averages, with progress on cutting thermal coal financing to be published annually. "What will make or break the world's ability to get to this 1.5 degree target is... the energy transition in Asia to happen at the speed and scale it needs to happen, and we need to be at the heart of influencing that.
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