HSBC has announced that it will prioritise financing and investment that supports the transition to a net zero global economy.
The British bank said in a statement on Friday that it would align its financed emissions – the carbon emissions generated by its customers’ portfolio – with the Paris Agreement goal to achieve net zero by 2050 or sooner. The bank also aims to be net zero in its operations and supply chain by 2030.
“As we enter a pivotal decade of change, we have a landmark opportunity to accelerate our efforts to build a healthier, more resilient and more sustainable future. Our net zero ambition represents a material step up in our support for customers as we collectively work towards building a thriving low carbon economy,” said HSBC Group chief executive Noel Quinn.
We have a landmark opportunity to accelerate our efforts to build a healthier, more resilient and more sustainable future
Fifty-five firms, including HSBC, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, banks and insurance companies, committed to a framework last week to set climate goals specific to mortgages, bonds and other asset classes in their portfolios.
The 2015 Paris climate agreement asks countries to aim to limit Earth’s temperature increase to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).
HSBC will develop tailored financial products to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The bank will also prioritise financing and investment that contributes to the low carbon transition, the statement added.
The bank aims to support customers with between $750 billion and $1 trillion of finance and investment by 2030 to help with their transition. It will also work in partnership with its peers, customers, regulators, governments and wider society to effect change across the financial system.
The financial institution has already created the HSBC Pollination Climate Asset Management which will establish a series of funds that will invest in activities that preserve and enhance nature over the long term and address climate change.
HSBC has also set up a $100 million venture debt fund for CleanTech innovation. It also aims to roll out a philanthropic programme to donate $100m to scale climate innovation ventures and renewable energy solutions between now and 2025.
In 2017, HSBC had committed $100bn of sustainable finance by 2025.
“However, the bank recognises that achieving the Paris Agreement goal will require extra effort, at a faster pace, and plans to use its scale and global reach to seek to accelerate the transition to net zero,” the statement added.
UAE squad
Ali Kashief, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdelrahman, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Mohmmed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammad Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Eisa, Mohammed Shakir, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Adel Al Hosani, Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah), Waleed Abbas, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai) Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Mahrami (Baniyas)
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Two-step truce
The UN-brokered ceasefire deal for Hodeidah will be implemented in two stages, with the first to be completed before the New Year begins, according to the Arab Coalition supporting the Yemeni government.
By midnight on December 31, the Houthi rebels will have to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Al Saqef, coalition officials told The National.
The second stage will be the complete withdrawal of all pro-government forces and rebels from Hodeidah city, to be completed by midnight on January 7.
The process is to be overseen by a Redeployment Co-ordination Committee (RCC) comprising UN monitors and representatives of the government and the rebels.
The agreement also calls the deployment of UN-supervised neutral forces in the city and the establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure distribution of aid across the country.
Company%20Profile
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Company%20Profile
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
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