SecondOn the nationwide “Friday for the Future” protest day (thousands of people are expected to participate in Frankfurt this Friday), activists are paying attention to banks. The climate movement criticized financial companies for not being fully committed to sustainability and continuing to provide funding for climate offenders. For example, activists blamed Commerzbank for supporting fossil energy companies with more than $11 billion since the Paris climate agreement was signed.This Deutsche Bank They calculated that between 2016 and 2020, US$74 billion was invested in ways to destroy the climate.
As lenders, banks play a central role in transforming the economy into a more sustainable one. Ultimately, the financial resources provided by financial institutions and the terms and conditions of loans determine the company’s development and the use of funds.
This is why financial companies are facing increasing pressure to increase the transparency of loans and adapt them to sustainable standards-especially because more and more customers are asking for green financial investments because they do not want to use their savings for the climate Sinners provide funds. However, in the eyes of environmentalists, banks are not strict enough in this regard. They regard many activities as pretexts, especially criticizing German companies for lagging behind their competitors in global comparison.
Discussion on Sustainable Financial Products
Banks are defending themselves for accusations that they have not acted in a climate-friendly manner. In terms of sustainability, they see themselves as part of the solution, not part of the problem, because they increasingly promote green investment and are committed to achieving sustainability goals.
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This Commerzbank For example, it pointed out its coal directive issued in 2016, which established certain investment exclusion criteria, according to which the bank no longer provides funding for coal-fired power plants and coal mines. According to the bank, the policy is currently being revised. According to a statement from Manfred Knof, the CEO who took office at the beginning of the year, sustainability is a core element of the strategy until 2024. Accordingly, the number of sustainable financial products for corporate and private customers is expanding “rapidly” as it says. “In the past six months alone, we have increased this transaction volume from 100 billion euros to 140 billion euros,” a FAZ spokesperson said. By 2025 at the latest, it should be 300 billion.
But this is not enough for environmentalists. For example, the Urgewald organization criticized the bank’s coal directives for being too weak. In this way, coal-fired power plants will no longer receive financing, but companies that build such plants will receive financing. In addition, many guidelines will not apply to existing customers until 2021, “They can stay dirty as they please,” it said there. Commerzbank mentioned “in-depth dialogue with non-governmental organizations” to further formulate its own sustainable development strategy. Within the bank, carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced by 70% compared to 2007. The houses here hope to reach zero net worth by 2040 at the latest, including, for example, supplier emissions.
