On the go: Brunel Pension Partnership, composed of 10 Local Government Pension Scheme funds with £30bn in assets under management, has claimed a role in UK bank HSBC’s board-backed resolution to lower fossil fuels.
A coalition of investors led by ShareAction, including Brunel, with combined assets under management of $2.4tn (£1.7tn) filed a shareholder resolution in December 2020, but withdrew it after the bank announced a board-backed resolution on Thursday.
HSBC will be phasing out the financing of coal-fired power and thermal coal mining by 2030 in the EU and OECD, and by 2040 elsewhere.
“It is an exceptional moment for Brunel and the coalition of investors that has engaged with the bank,” a statement from the pension pool stated.
“Given the carbon intensity of the sector, HSBC’s coal phase-out plan is especially urgent, and the bank can help accelerate a shift away from coal-based activities, particularly in Asia.”
Jeanne Martin, senior campaign manager at ShareAction, noted that the announcement “shows that robust shareholder engagement can deliver concrete results and sets an important precedent for the banking industry”.
“Net-zero ambitions have to be backed up with time-bound fossil fuel phase-outs and today HSBC has taken an important step in that direction,” she said.
“Our focus now turns to ensuring it delivers on these commitments. HSBC must ensure that its coal phase-out policy, to be published before the end of the year, includes a clear commitment to stop financing coal developers and top coal companies, and to ask its clients to publish their own coal-phase out plans by 2023 at the latest.”
The resolution will be put to a vote at the bank’s annual meeting on May 28.
This article originally appeared on Mandatewire.com
