Two posters for HSBC advertising the bank’s green initiatives have been banned for omitting information about its own contribution to carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions.
US and UK financial institutions have been among the leading investors in Russian “carbon bomb” fossil fuel projects, according to a new database of holdings from recent years.
Stuart Kirk, global head of responsible investing at HSBC Asset Management, was suspended in May after saying in a speech that climate change wasn’t a ‘financial risk we need to worry about’.
Stuart Kirk, the head of responsible investing for the bank’s asset management division, said the risks of climate change had been overblown. “Who cares if Miami is six meters underwater in 100 years?”
Senior HSBC executives have distanced themselves from comments on the financial risks of climate change made by the global head of responsible investing at the bank’s asset management division.
HSBC could be forced to slash its exposure to fossil fuels – starting with coal – from next year, after an influential group of investors filed a shareholder vote urging the bank to ramp up its climate commitments.
HSBC, Bank of the West and Fannie Mae are among those offering green mortgage bonds, financing commercial clients’ efforts to rein in carbon emissions and developing other novel products that help customers tackle environmental challenges.
HSBC chief distances himself from banker’s climate change comments
Senior HSBC executives have distanced themselves from comments on the financial risks of climate change made by the global head of responsible investing at the bank’s asset management division.