Barclays has today published its revised policy on financing carbon-intensive industries, but the plan has failed to win the full support of campaigners.

In response, Sonia Hierzig, senior projects manager at ShareAction, says: “It is positive that Barclays has finally followed many of its European peers in ending project finance for coal mining and power. However, the new policy falls short beyond that. There is no exclusion for general corporate financing and underwriting for companies heavily reliant on coal. The bank merely says that it will engage with such clients, without providing a clear set of targets and timelines. We are also disappointed that the bank will continue to finance tar sands and related infrastructure – despite investors increasingly voicing concern about the sector and other banks starting to adopt more ambitious exclusion policies. Overall, this new policy is underwhelming and makes it questionable whether climate-related risks are taken seriously enough at the most senior levels within the bank.”

Notes to editors:

• For more information, please contact Beau O'Sullivan on beau.osullivan@shareaction.org or Sonia Hierzig on sonia.hierzig@shareaction.org
• The policy can be found here.