A group of institutional investors has called on Barclays (BARC) to phase out its financing of fossil fuel companies, in the first climate change resolution filed at a European bank.
The 11 institutional shareholders, which together manage £130bn in assets, have asked the lender to publish a plan to “gradually stop the provision of project finance, corporate finance, and underwriting” to energy and utility companies that are not aligned with the goals of the Paris climate agreement.
The call has been co-ordinated by the investment charity ShareAction, which campaigns to convince global banks to shift their lending activity from fossil fuels to the low-carbon sector. Barclays has been singled out as one of the largest global financiers of high-carbon projects, having provided more than $85bn (£65bn) in finance since the Paris agreement was signed in 2015.
“Banks must align their lending with the science,” said Jeanne Martin, a campaign manager at ShareAction. “If Barclays supports the Paris agreement, it will support this resolution.”
A Barclays spokesperson said: “We are working to help tackle climate change, and we meet with ShareAction and other shareholders regularly to update them on our progress.” The lender’s board will consider the resolution before publishing its recommendation to shareholders.
