Banks are pressured to comply with the Paris Agreement

Many investment companies are putting pressure on banks to meet the targets set by the Paris Agreement in the coming years. Companies that are asking banks to change their approach include the American companies Federated Hermes and Pacific Investment Management. They have asked 27 banks to contribute to the fight against global warming by 2050. They should not provide funds or otherwise assist those companies that may undermine such efforts in relation to a more environmentally friendly environment. This was reported by Bloomberg. Investors say banks play a key role in today's world in preventing global warming. These are institutions that enable the movement of money in the economy through loans. They determine who will receive funding for their projects. According to a group of investor companies, banks should no longer provide money for projects that may exacerbate the problem of global warming. "It is no longer possible to wait for something. Several years have passed since the signing of the Paris Agreement. Banks need to take such measures for granted. We must meet the goals set by the Paris Agreement, "Stephanie Pfeifer, executive director of the IIGCC's institutional investor group, told Bloomberg, where she is working towards a sustainable future. The Paris Agreement aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus combat advancing global warming. The agreement aims to keep the increase in global average temperature below 2 ° C above pre-industrial levels. This is so that the temperature rise does not exceed 1.5 ° C. It wants to achieve this by significantly reducing the production of greenhouse gas emissions. Investors addressed top representatives of banks, including the American JPMorgan, the British HSBC and the Swiss UBS. They demand that they finance zero or at least low-carbon projects more often. "In most cases, banks still do not pay much attention to environmental issues and climate damage. Too much money is still being spent on carbon-intensive projects. This is a problem we face today and should change soon, "said Natasha Landell-Mills of the investment company Sarasin & Partners. According to the latest available information, the sixty largest commercial and investment banks invested about $ 3.8 trillion in fossil fuels between 2016 and 2020, five years after the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement. According to the Banking in Chaos 2021 report, fossil fuel funding from the 60 largest banks in 2020 was higher than in 2016, the first year since the entry into force of the Paris Agreement.