And of course the fact that coal and fossil fuels in general are a leading source of GHGs & that our planet is literally burning
What's good about the NZBA then?
* Banks "shall" disclose their financed emissions on an annual basis ✅
* Banks are mandated to use scenarios that "shall be" no-overshoot or low-overshoot (e.g. IPCC P1 & P2 scenarios) & have conservative assumptions on NETs 🔥
They "shall" also have "reasonable assumptions" on carbon sequestration achieved through nature-based solutions & land use change🌳
This will be subject to interpretation but is nevertheless an important recognition of the massive risk of relying on NETs
Banks are mandated to set 2030 & 2050 targets for the emissions embedded in their financing☀️
😱However😱
* The targets don't need to be aligned w 1.5C (the guidelines refer to "well-below 2C & striving for 1.5C")
* Only members of the #UNPRB have to get their targets verified
* The targets do *NOT* need to cover off-balance sheet activities such as underwriting
This. is. madness.
Major banks provide as much fossil fuel financing through underwriting as they do through lending.
* Banks have a total of 4 years to set targets & publish plans to back these up
I understand it is not easy. That methodologies don't always exist, data is missing, and things still need to be figured out. But *four* years!?
Many European banks have ***already*** set targets 😳
* Offsets are thought to have a role to play but preferably where "there are limited technological or financial alternatives to eliminate emissions"
⚠️This will be subject to interpretation w/o clear guidelines⚠️
They also do not *need* to be additional & certified
Many are likely to disagree - and I do speak from a European perspective - but I fear that the Net-Zero Banking Alliance is a missed opportunity to define climate leadership for the banking sector
“More voluntary alliances filled w repeat greenwashing offenders is not enough”
“We need urgent action from regulators (..) to ensure that the entire financial system is aligned with the legally binding environmental targets gvts have committed to”
Mark Carney is expected to launch a "Glasgow Finance Alliance for Net-Zero" on Earth Day
Notwithstanding the fact that we already have *enough* net-zero alliances thank you very much, this alliance has the potential to be a lot of greenwash
The alliance is expected to host 30 banks pledging to reach net-zero by 2050 & might include @Barclays@Citi & @HSBC
But but but
1/ These 3 banks have *already* made net-zero pledges
2/ Net-zero has already become the baseline in the banking industry
Hardly groundbreaking
These pledges might not even cover essential activities such as underwriting
I mean... seriously?!
Your daily reminder that in 2019 and 2020, @HSBC provided almost as much financing to the power & energy sectors in the form of underwriting than as it did in the form of loans
We weren't allowed to tweet from the #BPAGM so I've summarised my highlights below 👇
The AGM started off with protesters disrupting the meeting by calling BP a climate criminal & gluing themselves to the board - full video here 👇in response, BP CEO said everybody likes a good Shakespeare
The Q&A of the #BPAGM kicked off w @MsJoAlexander making a pledge to BP to make opportunities for its employees to work on low-carbon solutions & make their jobs more meaningful. #JustTransition The response from the chair was vague & disappointing.