Standard Chartered : Here for good means saying no to coal

Our new approach to coal-fired power plants adds to the extensive list of activities we have already said we will not support, including arctic and tar-sands exploration and production, as well as the conversion or degradation of high-value forests and peatlands.

We have arrived at our decision on coal following an extensive consultation process with all of our stakeholders, including clients, employees, shareholders, NGOs and governments. Through this process, we have listened to and reflected on all sides of the debate.

Our decision reflects the dynamism and growing affordability of alternative energy sources. Just as mobile phones have allowed many of our markets to leapfrog old technologies and business models, so too can clean energy allow businesses and communities to avoid reliance on coal.

Wind turbines are being developed that are ever larger and more efficient. In the world's second largest energy market, the US, the cost of wind energy has declined by two-thirds since 2009 and it is estimated could fall another 50 per cent by 2030. Meanwhile the cost of solar electricity has slumped to US$0.10 per kilowatt hour. There is no reason why the benefits of cheap, abundant, clean energy should be confined to richer industrialised nations and not shared with emerging markets; indeed, we are already working with communities in our markets to develop off-grid sources of renewable energy.

Overall, we have demonstrated our support of the Paris Agreement through our commitment to fund and facilitate US$4 billion in clean energy projects by 2020. We are already halfway to meeting that commitment.

For future generations

More widely, we, at Standard Chartered, believe that the financial sector has an important role to play helping our clients to find more sustainable sources of power and bring about the low-carbon future. That is why we are also committing to work with our clients in the utility sector to help them to reduce their dependence on coal, switching to low carbon and clean energy.

With their rising incomes and increasing consumption, we also believe it is the fast-growing markets in which we operate that can have the biggest impact in the fight against climate change.

If we are to live up to our brand promise, Here for good, it is vital that we act today to make this happen and ensure we can have a positive impact for the generations to come.

Before you go, you might also be interested in the story on how we're supporting a low-carbon future...