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HSBC updates climate policy to stop funding new oil and gas

15 December 2022
28419
2022-12-15 16:21

HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, announced Wednesday it will no longer finance new oil and gas fields as part of its updated climate strategy.

Climate experts said the move was nevertheless a big deal.Jeanne Martin, head of the banking program at Share Action said "We think that HSBC's commitment to no longer finance oil and gas fields directly is significant.

This is because last year the International Energy Agency announced that there was no room for new oil and gas fields for 50% chance of reaching net zero by 2050.

And by making this commitment, HSBC is signaling to fossil fuel giants, but also governments across the world, that banks appetite for these activities is rapidly diminishing."

In a report last year, the International Energy Agency said investments in new coal mines, oil and gas wells need to end immediately if the world stood a chance of meeting its commitment in the Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Fossil fuel financing from the world's 60 largest banks reached $4.6 trillion U.S. dollars in the six years since the adoption of the Agreement.

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