HSBC has launched its first roadmap to net zero by 2050, which details how the bank aims to finance and support the transition to zero emissions.
While the roadmap doesn’t include any new strategies, it highlights the steps the bank is taking to decarbonise by 2050 and how its supporting high-emitting industries to lower its emissions.
HSBC group chief executive Noel Quinn stated: “The radical change in the shape of many industries required by net zero cannot be achieved by any one organisation or part of the financial system alone.
“Our own ability to become a net zero bank by 2050 is dependent on the pace of decarbonisation in the real economy and on our customers’ ability to transition their business models.”
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HSBC has recently come under fire for supporting fossil fuel companies to raise more than £37 billion despite its pledge to “no longer” provide finance for new oil and gas fields.
In the latest report, the bank said the finance sector will “need to provide some ongoing finance to keep oil and gas flowing to meet current and future (declining) global demand, while maintaining energy security, access and affordability at a local level”.
“It will need to do so with appropriate guardrails, informed by science and international guidance, that enable us to help companies and nations to decarbonise and diversify,” the bank added.
