The HSBC bank has just announced that it will no longer finance new hydrocarbon exploitation projects.
A measure that applies to all gas and oil fields that have received their final operating approval after the end of 2021.
New hydrocarbon projects excluded from financing
HSBC strikes a blow. The British financial group has just announced that it will no longer offer financing for the exploitation of new gas and oil fields. An important announcement, HSBC being one of the largest lenders in the world to impose this constraint.
The banking group follows with this decision the recommendations of the International Energy Agency, for which ending the exploration of new reservoirs would be necessary in order to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050. The establishment will also ask for more information to its customers on their plans to reduce CO emissions2.
Activist groups, which had in recent years criticized HSBC for the controversial funding, welcomed the initiative. ” HSBC announcement sets new minimum ambition threshold for all banks committed to carbon neutrality “explained to the agency Reuters Jeanne Martin, of Share Action.
HSBC assumes a balance between fossil and green energies
However, HSBC will continue to finance the energy sector, in particular to guide their conversion to renewable energies. In this context, it will carry out an annual review of its customers’ strategy, and will ask them about their production levels after 2030.
The bank wants to be “pragmatic”. With the Russian-Ukrainian war and the energy problems it entails, the current vital need for fossil fuels has come to everyone’s mind. It will thus continue to play its role so that supply follows demand.
” This is not the end of all fossil fuel investment from tomorrow. The existing fossil energy system must co-exist with the growing clean energy system “, explained the director of sustainable development at HSBC Celine Herweijer.
Source : Reuters
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