More than a hundred investment companies today called on several major global banks such as JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank to do more for the climate, especially by refusing to finance coal projects, AFP reported.
These asset managers indicated that they could support decisions that encourage banks to be more proactive or otherwise vote against the re-election of financial institution governors.
A total of 115 investors such as Aviva Investors, Fidelity or M&G, with $ 4.2 trillion in assets, have sent a letter to 63 banks, including Standard Chartered, according to a statement from the NGO ShareAction.
Investors want banks to step up measures to support climate and biodiversity, given their central role in funding, and especially as the next UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) approaches. It will take place in November in the Scottish city of Glasgow.
The step-by-step measure in this process will be to stop funding coal projects by 2020 in the countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and by 2040 in other countries. Investors even hope that banks will be able to announce before the UN climate change conference that they are no longer financing companies with new coal projects.
The letter also called on banks to join the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, which has already prompted the International Energy Agency (IEA) to recommend to the oil sector to suspend all exploration projects.
With regard to biodiversity, investors want banks to commit to identifying and publishing their impact and setting targets in this area by 2024.
Investment companies expect answers to all these questions by August 15, including the planned stages in the short term in response to various challenges.
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Any lack of progress can be taken into account at the general meetings of shareholders in 2022 when voting on resolutions, investors warn in the letter.
Investors want concrete measures, and banks that fail to respond can expect to face serious challenges at future general meetings, warned Jean Martin of ShareAction.
This already happened in May, when the shareholders of ExxonMobil and Chevron voted to force companies to fight more vigorously against climate change.
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