Deutsche Bank pledges to cut emissions from loans to oil, gas

Deutsche Bank AG has given its clearest indication yet of how it plans to deliver on the commitment it made last year to reach net-zero financed emissions by 2050.

Germany’s biggest bank said in a statement that it will “significantly” reduce its so-called Scope 3 emissions, which are also known as financed emissions, by 2030 and announced a set of emissions reductions targets for its 250 billion-euro ($244 billion) corporate loan book. The bank said it “aims to support a progressive and orderly phasing out of fossil-fuel usage, while incentivizing the financing of lower carbon-intensity technologies and clients with credible transition plans.”

In the oil and gas sector, Deutsche Bank said it plans a 23% reduction in financed emissions by 2030 and a 90% decrease by 2050. The bank said in March, oil and gas loans are the biggest single component of its financed emissions, accounting for 32% of the total, or 9.7 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year.

Banks that have made high-level commitments to phase out emissions are under growing pressure to provide evidence of how they plan to reach their targets. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine and a global energy crisis are leading some banks to reconsider their climate commitments. In March, the European Central Bank (ECB) said it was pushing lenders to disclose more information on the climate and environmental risks they face after finding that only 15% publish data on the emissions they finance.

Deutsche Bank is a founding member of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and is thus required to detail how it will lower emissions in the most carbon-intensive industries on its balance sheet.

The German bank also said that in the power generation sector, it’s targeting a 69% reduction in Scope 1 physical-emissions intensity by 2030; in the automotive industry, it plans a 59% cut in tailpipe-emissions intensity by 2030; and in steel loans, the bank is aiming for a 33% decline in Scope 1 and Scope 2 physical-emissions intensity by 2030. The bank said it aims to achieve these targets by advising clients in carbon-intensive industries and financing their transition strategies and efforts on the path to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

“This is a big step forward in managing the carbon footprint of our loan portfolio actively”, Chief Sustainability Officer Jörg Eigendorf said in the statement. “We are focusing on supporting our clients on their net zero journey. This is a crucial element of our sustainability strategy.”

Deutsche Bank’s target for oil and gas is based on absolute emissions, while its targets for other sectors are based on carbon intensity, which measures emissions per unit of output. Climate activists have said intensity targets are a “cheap accounting trick” because they allow banks to keep financing the expansion of fossil fuels instead of pushing to phase them out.

—Bloomberg