A new tracker launched by 13 NGOs has shown that the biggest UK banks do not have the basic policies and financing targets required to support the decarbonisation of the power sector. Reclaim Finance, ShareAction and Make My Money Matter are among the NGOs that created the Sustainable Power Policy Tracker (SPPT), which assesses whether the 60 biggest global banks, including five from the UK, have the correct targets and policies in place to ensure a transition to decarbonised power. They noted that two-thirds of banks assessed by the SPPT have adopted targets for decarbonising power supplies, but that a significant increase in finance for sustainable power is required. According to the SPPT, just 8 banks globally – including France’s BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole, Germany’s DZ Bank and the Netherlands’ ING – have a target for financing sustainable power supplies. No UK banks have such a target. The NGOs have called on the banks to “massively increase” their support for sustainable power and to “immediately stop supporting the expansion of fossil fuels”. David Hayman, Campaign Director at Make My Money Matter, said that the SPPT “powerfully” shows that despite shifting public expectations and a growing climate emergency, UK banks are still failing on climate action. “In the face of the IEA’s guidance that we can have no new oil and gas if we are to prevent climate catastrophe, our banks continue to finance fossil fuel expansion, and lag behind in financing climate solutions,” he added.
🔴NEW: Are banks supporting the decarbonisation of the power sector?⚡️
That's what the Sustainable Power Policy Tracker – a new tool developed with 13 NGOs – assesses.
See the key findings ⬇️🧵https://t.co/e2WnFpcEb8 pic.twitter.com/6m1cSSPCi1
— Reclaim Finance (@ReclaimFinance) October 24, 2023
