Maurice B. Shaw’s Post

At the end of the week in which it was confirmed the world has experienced its first full year above 1.5c there is still some positive news: Good to see Barclays now joining other global banking groups in committing to further fossil-fuel financing restrictions. The word 'restrictions' is doing some heavy lifting in this new climate finance statement, and as always the devil will be in the detail, but hopefully a further step in the right direction. And more evidence that regardless of some national government's policy on oil and gas licencing, the financing tap is closing..... #climatefinance #climatechange #fossilfuels #barclays

🚨 Barclays shifts away from oil and gas, a big move for what was reportedly the biggest funder of the fossil fuel sector in Europe between 2016 and 2021. Barclays state that there will be: 1. No project finance, or other direct finance to energy clients, for upstream oil and gas expansion projects or related infrastructure. 2. Restrictions on non-diversified energy clients engaged in long lead expansion. 3. Additional restrictions on unconventional oil and gas, including Amazon and extra heavy oil. 4. Requirements for energy clients to have 2030 methane reduction targets, a commitment to end all routine / non-essential venting and flaring by 2030 and near-term net zero aligned Scope 1 and 2 targets by January 2026. 5. Expectation for energy clients to produce transition plans or decarbonisation strategies by January 2025. What will this mean for the UK's Net Zero targets? Read the full press release here https://lnkd.in/e-CNfQUn Stephen Sykes FRSA Chamber Low Carbon Miranda B.

Crickets from the RBC, which is estimated to have one of the worst clean energy finance supply ratios among global banks... "Despite the backlash to environmental and social shareholder proposals, the New York City comptroller Brad Lander — who oversees the pension plans of public employees — has already scored wins this proxy season at two big Wall Street banks. Citigroup has agreed to disclose its relative levels of financial support for low-carbon energy versus fossil fuels — what’s known as a green financing ratio. If the ratio is less than one, then the bank is providing more funding for fossil-fuel companies than for renewable energy businesses. Citi’s decision follows JPMorgan’s recent announcement that they would also disclose this figure. In 2022, the green financing ratio for North American banks averaged 0.6, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Lander has highlighted BNEF data showing the ratio needs to reach four by 2030 to reach the Paris agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. 'They can improve their ratio in two ways: by less financing of fossil fuels or by jacking up low-carbon energy, which is a huge opportunity right now,' Michael Garland, the NYC assistant comptroller for corporate governance, said on Tuesday. 'We are very excited about this,' he said. 'We felt from the beginning that because we were not being overly prescriptive, that it was a feasible request and we would make progress, and I think getting two major institutions to agree, sort of validates that assumption and hopefully will lead to stronger votes' at the other banks." #uspolitics #cdnpoli #sustainablefinance #fossilfuels #climaterisk

Oh, fracking hell!   Great work ShareAction on exposing Barclays UK! Despite claiming to be going green, they continue to finance some of the dirtiest kinds of fossil fuel extraction, giving millions to fracking projects around the world ❌   Fracking has huge detrimental effects on local communities, contaminating water supplies and causing a myriad of health problems. The practice is banned or heavily restricted in most of Europe, but still common in the US.   Let’s get Barclays out of fracking, head over to ShareAction to find out more 💥 https://lnkd.in/ec2M9cGa

The recent announcement by Barclays that it will stop providing direct funding to new oil and gas projects could be a very big deal indeed. According to a report from Rainforest Action Network, Barclays was the biggest funder of the fossil fuel sector in Europe between 2016 and 2021. The details can be found in Barclays' #climatechange Statement (see below).  Here are some of the highlights: - One trillion of sustainable and transaction finance by 2030 - Establish a transition finance framework to meet that target and facilitate the transition finance needed to decarbonize high-emitting sectors of the economy. - No project finance, or other direct finance to energy clients, for upstream oil and gas expansion projects or related infrastructure. - Restrictions for new energy clients engaged in expansion. - Restrictions on non-diversified energy clients engaged in long lead expansion. - Additional restrictions on unconventional oil and gas, including Amazon and extra heavy oil. - Requirements for energy clients to have 2030 #methane reduction targets, a commitment to end all routine/non-essential venting and flaring by 2030 and near-term net zero aligned Scope 1 and 2 targets by January 2026. - Expectation for energy clients to produce transition plans or decarbonization strategies by January 2025. It's important to realize that an announcement like this was likely months, even years in the making. Such a step would require buy-in from upper management the board of Barclays, and most of the company's large institutional share owners. This may spur similar conversations in the boardrooms of large international banks and among the shareowners of those banks. Many of those conversations are likely already happening. We would expect other #banks to join Barclays with similar announcements in the coming months. We'll have to wait and see. What do you think? #climatechange #sustainablefinance

I wanted to pull a few threads together from my reading and listening this week on the #energytransition. (Links in comments) You've probably seen the news that Barclays has introduced new restrictions on investment in oil and gas and non-diversified energy companies. They've also committed to more transition finance. This is great news! Barclays statement includes this potent line: "new long lead time upstream oil and gas projects are not required on a 1.5°C-aligned pathway". I'm not an analyst, but I understand this to mean that Barclays is unwilling to risk an investment in projects that are likely to become stranded assets. The transition finance piece is also really important, and is the headline of Barclays' release. Most of the media reporting has focused on the *divestment*, but that money has to go somewhere. Barclays' trillion-dollar sustainable and transition finance commitment is significant. Something else that caught my eye this week is the Australian government's Capacity Investment Scheme. The scheme will provide revenue underwriting for successful CIS projects, with a revenue floor and ceiling. This initiative provides some certainty for projects, making them more bankable so that financiers like Barclays can put their money into them. Neat! (And before you freak out about government funding for renewables, a quick reminder that the fossil fuel industry receives massive subsidies, too.) These shifts are levers that can make a difference in our energy system. This feels pretty momentous. US banks and other large asset holders are lagging in this area, and US energy providers are therefore not getting the support/nudges they need to speed their transition to diversified, non-fossil fuels. https://lnkd.in/gs5k2XyX

Barclays updated its climate change strategy, focusing its capital and resources on supporting energy companies to decarbonize and transition towards a low-carbon economy. The new strategy includes the introduction of a Transition Finance Framework and a new Energy Transition Group. With this approach, Barclays aims to accelerate the transition to a sustainable future and support the energy sector in achieving their climate goals. Read more about the new strategy and framework here: https://lnkd.in/gTwecJ3Q #Barclays #ClimateChange #EnergyTransition #Sustainability

Barclays has released a revised Climate Change Statement, which includes: > No project finance, or other direct finance to energy clients, for upstream oil and gas expansion projects or related infrastructure. > Restrictions for new energy clients engaged in expansion. > Restrictions on non-diversified energy clients engaged in long lead expansion. > Additional restrictions on unconventional oil and gas, including Amazon and extra heavy oil. > Requirements for energy clients to have 2030 methane reduction targets, a commitment to end all routine / non-essential venting and flaring by 2030 and near-term net zero aligned Scope 1 and 2 targets by January 2026. > Expectation for energy clients to produce transition plans or decarbonisation strategies by January 2025. Imagine if every business made bold, clear commitments like this. They focus on the areas where they can have the largest impact which makes it a great example of 'Materiality' in action. Take a read when you have a moment. Note: We do not bank with Barclays https://lnkd.in/e-CNfQUn

Barclays has announced it will no longer provide direct funding for new oil and gas projects. The banking giant also says it will restrict lending to energy businesses that plan to expand their fossil fuel production. Barclays is a major lender to the fossil fuel industry, but has been coming under mounting pressure to curb its support for the sector. Campaign groups welcomed the move, but insisted it did not go far enough. According to a report from environmental group Rainforest Action Network, Barclays was the biggest funder of the fossil fuel sector in Europe between 2016 and 2021. It provided just under $16.5bn (£13bn) in 2022, although that was significantly lower than in previous years. In 2019 and 2020, the figure was more than $30bn. However, the bank has been under pressure from environmental campaigners, shareholder activists and even celebrities to curb its support. Last year, a campaign group including the actress Emma Thompson and the film director Richard Curtis called on the All England Lawn Tennis Club to remove Barclays as a sponsor of Wimbledon. They claimed the bank was "profiting from climate chaos". In what it called a Climate Change Statement, Barclays announced it would no longer provide direct funding for projects designed to expand oil and gas production, or infrastructure related to such projects. It said it would also end direct funding for any oil and gas projects in the Amazon or in the Arctic Circle, or which were aimed at extracting, processing or transporting oil from oil sands. But direct funding for specific projects makes up only part of Barclays' overall lending to the sector. The bank said there would also be restrictions on new financing for energy groups themselves, although these will be stricter for new clients than existing ones. The plan is not wholly focused on oil and gas. There will also be curbs on lending linked to coal mining and coal-fired power generation. Barclays is not the first bank in Europe to introduce such commitments. HSBC, Lloyds, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole have all previously announced restrictions on funding for fossil fuels. The latest announcement was welcomed by ShareAction, a group that campaigns for responsible investment, but it complained that there were loopholes in the plan. "Barclays is wrong not to have ruled out financing companies that focus exclusively on fossil fuel extraction," it said. "This should include fracking, which is causing so much environmental and social harm and is an activity the bank is heavily exposed to." Meanwhile, Make My Money Matter, the group that includes Thompson and Curtis, said Barclays' plan was "inadequate in scope and in ambition".

A new climate-related #ShareholderResolution that caught our attention is from the New York City Comptroller’s Office and looks at the link between #CleanEnergy investments and #ClimateTransition plans. Banks and insurers are linchpins in the global financial system and key financiers of our current fossil fuel-based economy. The #NewYorkCityComptroller has engaged with six major banks. All have set net-zero goals and made commitments to clean energy and/or #SustainableFinance, but they continue to be among the most prominent financers of fossil fuels. A new #CleanEnergyRatio resolution proposes that these banks and lenders disclose their investments in clean energy relative to their investments in fossil fuels so shareholders can track if the company is adequately engaged in the transition to a low carbon economy. Research by #BloombergNewEnergyFinance says that overall #EnergySector investment needs to reach a minimum clean energy to fossil fuel investment ratio of 4:1 by 2030, 6:1 in the 2030s and 10:1 thereafter. Yet, in 2021, North American banks fell far below this target with an average ratio of 0.6:1. Resolutions at Citi, JPMorgan and RBC have been withdrawn after company commitments, but three are still pending. The first resolutions went to a vote this week #BankOfAmerica and #GoldmanSachs with results still pending. The next vote will be at #MorganStanley on May 23. Learn more #ProxyPreview #MichaelGarland https://lnkd.in/eV6pyFm7