Bloomberg skriver, at en koalition bestående af 115 store investorer med en samlet formue på 4,3 billioner dollars for nyligt er gået sammen om at skrive til 63 banker, herunder JPMorgan Chase & Co., Deutsche Bank AG og Standard Chartered Plc, og kræve, at de forpligter sig til at tage flere skridt mod en bæredygtig og grøn fremtid.
Blandt disse forslag var, at bankerne senest i år 2040 skulle forpligte sig til at fratræde alle investeringer i kul, samt at bankerne skulle offentliggøre deres kortsigtede klimamål såvel som deres virkninger på biodiversiteten før deres årlige aktionærmøde næste år.
Dette begrundes med, at bankerne spiller en afgørende rolle ift. at muliggøre overgangen til kulstoffattige stoffer og med al sandsynlighed kan afværge de værste konsekvenser af klimaændringer og tab af biodiversitet.
Hertil skriver Bloomberg:
“It’s also in their own self interest to throw their weight behind efforts to limit global warming since banks are exposed to the potentially significant effect on companies’ profits and the value of their assets stemming from the transition away from fossil fuels and the physical impacts of climate change and nature loss.”
“The message from investors is clear: Distant net zero targets and warm words about the importance of biodiversity are not enough,” said Jeanne Martin, senior campaign manager at ShareAction, the U.K. nonprofit that coordinated the letters. “Investors want concrete action now, and those banks which fail to respond can expect serious challenges at their next AGMs.”
“They want the banks to go beyond the pledges they have already made through voluntary initiatives such as the Net-Zero Banking Alliance. Signatories to that initiative have pledged to set their first round of climate targets by the end of next year, whereas the investor letters call on banks to publish comprehensive short-term climate targets, defined as five to 10 years, and covering all relevant financial services, ahead of banks’ mid-year annual meetings.
The investor coalition also asked the banks to align their climate plans with the International Energy Agency’s net-zero scenario that calls for an end to fossil fuel exploration and development, or another 1.5 degrees Celsius scenario that doesn’t rely on so-called negative emission technologies.”
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