{"id":224596,"date":"2022-10-19T11:50:17","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T09:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=224596"},"modified":"2022-10-19T11:50:38","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T09:50:38","slug":"hsbc-climate-change-adverts-banned-by-uk-watchdog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=224596","title":{"rendered":"HSBC climate change adverts banned by UK watchdog"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By Paul Homewood<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">h\/t Joe Public<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"224597\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=224597\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-910.png?fit=699%2C768&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"699,768\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image-910\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-910.png?fit=699%2C768&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-910.png?resize=723%2C794&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-224597\" width=\"723\" height=\"794\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-910.png?w=699&amp;ssl=1 699w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-910.png?resize=273%2C300&amp;ssl=1 273w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>The UK\u2019s advertising regulator has banned two HSBC advertisements for being &#8220;misleading&#8221; about the company\u2019s work to tackle climate change.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the banking giant can no longer run the ads which promoted its plans to reduce harmful emissions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The watchdog said that the posters &#8220;omitted material information&#8221; about HSBC\u2019s activities.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>It marks the ASA\u2019s first action against a bank for so-called &#8220;greenwashing&#8221;.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>An HSBC spokesperson told the BBC that &#8220;The financial sector has a responsibility to communicate its role in the low carbon transition to raise public awareness and engage its customers.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;We will consider how best to do this as we deliver our ambitious net zero commitments,&#8221; they added.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Greenwashing \u2013&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/business-59119693\"><em>branding something as eco-friendly, green or sustainable when this is not the case<\/em><\/a><em>&nbsp;\u2013 misleads consumers into thinking they are helping the planet by choosing those goods or services.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The adverts were seen at bus stops in London and Bristol last October, in the lead up to the highly-anticipated United Nations COP26 climate change summit.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The posters outlined HSBC\u2019s efforts to plant trees and help its customers achieve &#8220;net zero&#8221; emissions. Net zero means not adding to greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere by cutting and trying to balance out emissions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>One poster showed an image of waves crashing on a shore with text that said &#8220;Climate change doesn\u2019t do borders. Neither do rising sea levels. That\u2019s why HSBC is aiming to provide up to $1 trillion in financing and investment globally to help our clients transition to net zero&#8221;.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The other advert was of tree growth rings and text which read &#8220;Climate changes doesn\u2019t do borders. So in the UK, we\u2019re helping to plant 2 million trees which will lock in 1.25 million tonnes of carbon over their lifetime&#8221;.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.asa.org.uk\/rulings\/hsbc-uk-bank-plc-g21-1127656-hsbc-uk-bank-plc.html\"><em>The ASA upheld complaints<\/em><\/a><em>&nbsp;that the ads &#8220;omitted significant information about HSBC\u2019s contribution to carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;Customers\u2026 would not expect that HSBC, in making unqualified claims about its environmentally beneficial work, would also be simultaneously involved in the financing of businesses which made significant contributions to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions,&#8221; the regulator added.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>HSBC\u2019s efforts to address climate change have come under scrutiny in recent months.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>In February, campaigners accused big banks, including HSBC, of&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-60366054\"><em>pumping billions of dollars into new oil and gas production<\/em><\/a><em>&nbsp;despite being part of a green banking group.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>London-based ShareAction called on the banks to demand green plans from fossil fuel firms before funding them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>ShareAction said that 24 big banks, which joined the Net Zero Banking Alliance last year, had since provided $33bn (\u00a329.1bn) for new oil and gas project.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>At the time, a HSBC spokesman said the bank was &#8220;committed to working with our customers to achieve a transition towards a thriving low carbon economy&#8221;.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-63309878\">https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-63309878<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maybe this will give the HSBC and other banks the backbone to stand up to the climate mafia, and make it clear that in future they will run their businesses in the interests of their shareholders and customers, not the diktats of bureaucrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The idea that HSBC could make the slightest difference to the climate was always absurd, and I suspect that advertising campaigns like this are decided by a small clique of eco-fanatics at the bank, nodded through by senior management who wrongly believe that the vast majority of customers give two hoots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pure green virtue signalling, while the bank gets on with doing business in the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">via <strong><em><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-blue-color\">NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">October 19, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com\/2022\/10\/19\/hsbc-climate-change-adverts-banned-by-uk-watchdog\/\">HSBC climate change adverts banned by UK watchdog | NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT (wordpress.com)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The UK\u2019s advertising regulator has banned two HSBC advertisements for being &#8220;misleading&#8221; about the company\u2019s work to tackle climate change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":224597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-224596","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","9":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-910.png?fit=699%2C768&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-Wqw","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":201371,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=201371","url_meta":{"origin":224596,"position":0},"title":"HSBC Banker Is Right About the Climate Apocalypse-Not!","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"25\/05\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A Google news search for the term \u201cclimate change,\u201d this week turns up dozens of stories in the corporate media publicizing and lambasting Stuart Kirk, global head of responsible investment for international banking giant HSBC, for having the temerity to speak the truth about climate alarmism. Kirk said what hundreds\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/00screenshot-from-FT-Live-Kirk.png?fit=1109%2C637&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/00screenshot-from-FT-Live-Kirk.png?fit=1109%2C637&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/00screenshot-from-FT-Live-Kirk.png?fit=1109%2C637&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/00screenshot-from-FT-Live-Kirk.png?fit=1109%2C637&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/00screenshot-from-FT-Live-Kirk.png?fit=1109%2C637&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":201105,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=201105","url_meta":{"origin":224596,"position":1},"title":"Climate Skeptic HSBC Banker Suspended for Honesty?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"23\/05\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Essay by Eric Worrall A few days ago, WUWT applauded\u00a0HSBC\u2019s Stuart Kirk for revealing how head bankers like himself are being pressured to add unrealistic assumptions to climate models, like a $200 carbon tax, to produce results which conform to the desired political narrative. 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Imagine if hypothetically in the early days of the frenzy which led to the GFC \/ Subprime Mortgage Crash, a senior banker had very publicly announced\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/0Screenshot-2022-05-23-200250.png?fit=1057%2C587&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/0Screenshot-2022-05-23-200250.png?fit=1057%2C587&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/0Screenshot-2022-05-23-200250.png?fit=1057%2C587&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/0Screenshot-2022-05-23-200250.png?fit=1057%2C587&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/0Screenshot-2022-05-23-200250.png?fit=1057%2C587&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":207923,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=207923","url_meta":{"origin":224596,"position":5},"title":"\u201cClimate Change is not a financial risk\u201d: HSBC Responsible Banking Head Resigns","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/07\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Essay by Eric Worrall \u201cA cancel culture destroys wealth and progress\u201d \u2013 Stuart Kirk\u2019s warning to people who want to silence debate about green investments. \u201cClimate change is not a financial risk\u201d \u2014 HSBC\u2019s head of responsible investment Stuart Kirk resignsBy\u00a0Velvet-Belle TemplemanJul 8 2022 1:38PMStuart Kirk, global head of responsible\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-64.png?fit=750%2C418&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-64.png?fit=750%2C418&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-64.png?fit=750%2C418&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-64.png?fit=750%2C418&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=224596"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":224600,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224596\/revisions\/224600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/224597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=224596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=224596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=224596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}