Tag: Barclays

Barclays follows HSBC in exit from banking industry’s net zero alliance

US banks have already pulled out of NZBA, the UN environment programme’s finance initiative

Illustration of multiple mice jumping off a sinking ship labeled 'NET ZERO', with dark smoke billowing from the ship.

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

Another bank sees the light!

From the Guardian:

Headline from The Guardian announcing Barclays' exit from the banking industry's net zero alliance, written by Kalyeena Makortoff.

Barclays has become the second UK bank to withdraw from a UN-backed net zero target-setting group, claiming that a wave of defections by international lenders meant it was no longer fit for purpose.

It marks a fresh blow for the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), after HSBC left in early July. It came months after a wave of exits by US banks, which departed in the run-up to Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.

Lenders and other finance firms have come under fresh pressure over their green commitments as a result of Trump’s return to the White House, which caused a climate backlash as he pushed for higher production of oil and gas.

The UN environment programme’s finance initiative, which is led by banks, required members to ensure their lending, investment and capital markets activities would lead them to hitting net zero emissions targets by 2050 or earlier.

However, Barclays said it was no longer effective, given it no longer counted some of the world’s biggest lenders as members. The US lenders who cancelled their membership at the start of the year include JP Morgan, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

Barclays said in a statement on Friday afternoon: “After consideration, we have decided to withdraw from the Net Zero Banking Alliance. With the departure of most of the global banks, the organisation no longer has the membership to support our transition.”

Full story here.

It’s actually much simpler than the Guardian suggests

At the outset, banks smelt the lure of bountiful subsidies for anything Net Zero related. One by one, they are now realising that they cannot make a profit out of the Net Zero scam without those subsidies, which could dry up any time, just as they are now in Trump’s US.

Barclays reins in oil and gas funding in victory for net zero activists

Lender also strikes deal to buy Tesco Bank for £600m.

Lender also strikes deal to buy Tesco Bank for £600m.

Barclays is to stop directly financing new oil and gas projects after bowing to pressure from net zero activists.

The lender – which also separately announced a £600m takeover of rival Tesco Bank – has pledged to crack down on clients who pursue any new oil and gas-only strategies without also developing green alternatives. It will stop offering project finance or other direct finance to oil and gas expansion.

The move forms a key plank of the bank’s revised climate change strategy, in which Barclays will set climate tests for its energy clients such as committing to 2030 methane reduction targets. The Telegraph has the story.

Barclays, which has been repeatedly targeted by protesters claiming it is failing to tackle climate change, is seeking to supply $1 trillion (£793bn) of green financing to projects by 2030.

The bank will also pile greater scrutiny on companies solely focused on oil and gas. Diversified companies investing in low-carbon schemes will be supported more by the bank.

Barclays head of sustainable finance Daniel Hanna said: “Capital is critical to the energy transition, to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors for the world to reach net zero emissions and create a resilient economy.”

Head of sustainability Laura Barlow added that addressing climate change was a “critical and complex challenge”.

“We continue to work with our energy clients as they decarbonise and support their efforts to transition in a manner that is just, orderly and addresses energy security,” she added.

Barclays is a relatively small global player on energy project finance and sits outside the world’s top 15 lenders, meaning it is unlikely to have a major impact on new oil and gas projects.

Responsible investment charity ShareAction welcomed the move but said the bank could have gone further.

Campaign manager Kelly Shields said the bank should demand clients stop oil and gas exploration, which she said adds to climate change.

“Barclays is wrong not to have ruled out financing companies that focus exclusively on fossil fuel extraction. This should include fracking, which is causing so much environmental and social harm and is an activity the bank is heavily exposed to,” she said.

Read the full story here.