Banks heed Carney’s call to tackle climate change risk

Bloomberg

Eleven major banks including Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc. and UBS AG said they’ll seek ways to address the financial risks of global warming, after Bank
of England Governor Mark Carney urged investors to act on the threat.
The group started a pilot project to implement the recommendations of a taskforce set up by Carney to increase financial reporting standards on issues related to the environment, according to a statement from the United Nations Environment Finance Initiative on Tuesday.
The group also includes Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Banco Bradesco SA, National Australia Bank Ltd., Royal Bank of Canada, Banco Santander SA, Standard Chartered PLC and TD Bank Financial Group, according to the statement.
The taskforce, which was chaired by Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News and its parent company Bloomberg LP, said companies impacted by climate change should conduct scenario analysis and include results in their financial
reports.
The final report was submitted to the Group of 20 Countries at their summit in Hamburg last week. Leaders noted the findings in a Climate and Energy Action Plan for Growth signed on Saturday by all countries except the U.S.
The taskforce warned that banks can be exposed to climate risk through their borrowers, particularly if they provide loans to fossil fuel producers or agricultural and food companies.
“Banks could also become subject to litigation related to their financing activities,” it said.