(Friday 2nd May) Commenting on HSBC’s Annual General Meeting today (AGM) and the statement signed by 30 investors managing £1.2 trillion in assets calling on the bank to restate its commitment to the net zero transition being read at the AGM, Jeanne Martin, Head of the Banking Programme at ShareAction said:
“After dropping its Chief Sustainability Officer from its executive committee and announcing plans to review its climate targets and policies in February, HSBC has sent deeply concerning signals around whether managing the rapidly multiplying financial risks of global heating is still one of its priorities.
“As one of the largest banks in the world with exposure across Europe and Asia, HSBC is even more vulnerable than some of its European peers to climate risks, such as the effects of extreme weather, which are already impacting the lives and livelihoods of communities across the world.
“Despite this and having shown climate leadership in the past by stopping finance for new oil and gas projects, responsible investors have now been left in the dark on just how committed the bank remains to playing its significant part in securing the long-term prosperity of our global economy.
“This group of investors is calling on the bank to urgently affirm it will continue to build on its existing climate progress rather than backtrack, and to undertake this process in dialogue with shareholders. If the bank fails to do so it should not expect shareholders to remain silent.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
The 30 signatories of the statement include AkademikerPension, Australian Ethical, Axiom Alternative Investments, Bank J. Safra Sarasin, Barrow Cadbury Trust, Border to Coast Pension Partnership, Church of England PB, EdenTree Investment Management, Epworth Investment Management, Ethos Foundation, Ethos Engagement Pool International, Ethos Engagement Services Clients, EQ Investors, Folksam, Friends Provident Foundation, Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Jesuits in Britain, KLP, Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, Merseyside Pension Fund, Nest, P1 Investment Services, Rathbones Investment Management, Sarasin & Partners LLP, Smart Pension, Sparinvest, Trinity College Cambridge.
ShareAction will also ask questions calling for the bank to confirm it plans to continue holding in-person AGMs, following recent reports that the bank is considering meeting entirely online, and following up on the issue of the impact of liquefied natural gas projects on indigenous communities and the environment in the Rio Grande valley.
