HSBC announced it will end funding new coal power plants, oil sands and arctic drilling. It will join other large banks like ING and BNP Paribas in stopping funding exploration of fossil fuels. The bank’s group head of Strategy and global head of Sustainable Finance Daniel Klier said in a statement the bank recognizes the need to reduce emissions rapidly to achieve the target set in the 2015 Paris Agreement … and its responsibility to support the communities in which it operates. The bank, however, said it would make an exception for coal-fired power plants in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam. Environmental campaigner Greenpeace welcomed the move and said HSBC’s new energy strategy would prevent it from providing project finance for TransCanada Corp’s proposed $8-billion Keystone XL oil pipeline to Nebraska.
