Italy's UniCredit to exit thermal coal financing by 2023
2019-11-28 09:12:32 [Print]
Italian bank UniCredit has pledged to halt all lending for thermal coal projects by 2023, joining a growing band of financial companies striving to improve their green credentials.
Banks across the world have come under pressure from investors, regulators and climate activists to ease the transition toward a low-carbon economy.
Presenting its sustainability targets a week before the unveiling of a new four-year plan, UniCredit also said it would raise its exposure to the renewable energy sector by a quarter to more than 9 billion euros ($10 billion) by 2023.
France's BNP Paribas last week announced it would completely exit financing related to thermal coal by 2030 in the European Union and by 2040 worldwide.
UniCredit said new projects in thermal coal mining and coal-fired power generation would be off-limits, setting strict commitments to reduce reliance on coal for customers of its corporate financing business. The measures take effect immediately but some existing financing deals will take until 2023 to run off, the bank said.
Banks across the world have come under pressure from investors, regulators and climate activists to ease the transition toward a low-carbon economy.
Presenting its sustainability targets a week before the unveiling of a new four-year plan, UniCredit also said it would raise its exposure to the renewable energy sector by a quarter to more than 9 billion euros ($10 billion) by 2023.
France's BNP Paribas last week announced it would completely exit financing related to thermal coal by 2030 in the European Union and by 2040 worldwide.
UniCredit said new projects in thermal coal mining and coal-fired power generation would be off-limits, setting strict commitments to reduce reliance on coal for customers of its corporate financing business. The measures take effect immediately but some existing financing deals will take until 2023 to run off, the bank said.
