THE LEX COLUMN: Sparks fly over coal, bank lending

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Banks must listen to climate campaigners about funding coal mining

Climate activists from German civil disobedience movement Ende Gelande hold up banners during a protest outside the European Central Bank ahead of the bank's rate announcement in Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday, July 16, 2020. Picture: ALEX KRAUS/BLOOMBERG

It is not just campaigners. Nearly a quarter of shareholders supported climate change resolutions at annual meetings in 2020. Critics focus on banks’ bottom lines, as well as the wider impact on society. Billionaire hedge fund manager Christopher Hohn compares the risks of lending to coal with those of sub-prime mortgages ahead of the financial crisis.

European banks insist they get the message. The institutions rapped by Europe Beyond Coal — UniCredit, BNP Paribas, Barclays and Societe Generale — complain the criticism is outdated because they have since tightened restrictions on loans to companies that depend upon revenues from coal. Campaigners acknowledge that coal is being phased out across Europe faster than anyone dared hope.

 

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