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BNP Paribas has pledged to cease all financing related to the European thermal coal sector by 2030, before then halting coal investment globally by 2040, as the French banking giant seeks to limit its exposure to fossil fuel industries in favour of greener, lower risk investments.
The corporate bank promised to align its financing and investment activities with the goals of the Paris Agreement in 2015, and two years later announced plans to end financing for companies that derive most of their revenues from non-conventional hydrocarbons.
But late last week BNP Paribas went a step further in setting a final exit date for all thermal coal financing worldwide within the next two decades, and within just 10 years in the EU.
While funding for new coal fired power plant projects from BNP Paribas has completely ceased since 2017, the policy has been strengthened with regard to general credits granted to electricity producers, some of whose production is still based on coal, it said.
In 2018 coal accounted for 20% of the electricity mix of power companies financed by BNP Paribas.
But with the world facing a "climate emergency", the bank said it would "intensify" its dialogue with utilities involved in coal, as well as redirect resources and commercial efforts towards financing companies that are accelerating the low carbon transition and renewable energy deployment.
As such, the bank also announced new renewables financing targets, setting its sights on mobilising €18 billion of investment by 2021.
By the end of last year BNP Paribas had delivered €15.4 billion of renewable energy financing, hitting its previous goal to reach €15 billion by 2020 more than a year ahead of schedule.
The news comes as a new analysis from Carbon Brief on November 25 estimated global coal power production is set for a record 3% fall by the end of 2019, in yet a further sign of the commercial challenges facing the high carbon power source worldwide as nations shift towards less carbon intensive forms of energy.
Jean Laurent Bonnafé, director and CEO of BNP Paribas, said the new coal and renewables targets marked "a new stage in our objective of making a decisive contribution to the climate challenge".
"As a bank, we have the opportunity, and the will, to participate in the acceleration of the energy transition by supporting our customers in this necessary transformation," he said. "To succeed, such a transition must be fair and balanced, taking into account the reality of the economic model and the daily needs of people around the world."
The move follows the launch earlier this month of BNP Paribas's first real estate investment fund focused on climate change, in a bid to offer investors exposure to "the most environmentally-friendly listed real estate companies in Europe".
The new exchange-traded fund (ETF), which excludes the UK, bases stock weights on sustainable real estate investment data, such as energy consumption and green certification, according to the bank.
Isabelle Bourcier, head of quantitative and index management at BNP Paribas Asset Management, said: "The launch of this fund enables our clients, who are increasingly sensitive to climate issues and the impact of their investments, to focus on the most environmentally-friendly listed companies in the real-estate sector."
(Writing by Wenxin Wu Editing by Harry Huo)
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