It is a huge sum of 1.9 trillion dollars will be financed according to the study, “Banking on Climate Change” the global big banks since the Paris agreement, the oil industry or the coal industry. In the Top 25 of various environmental protection organizations, compiled list of all of the well-known big banks, including the Credit Suisse and the UBS. At the top of the rankings in the US banks JP Morgan and Wells Fargo are by far the. They have expanded according to the study, their involvement in the oil industry in the last few years.
Christian Leitz, head of Corporate Responsibility at UBS, says: “The Transition to a resource efficient economy is in all our interests.” Over the past few years, UBS has developed a comprehensive strategy to support this process. The share of CO2-relevant assets in the balance sheet had fallen to 1.2 percent, or 2.7 billion dollars. “We have committed ourselves to the world, no project-specific financing for new coal-fired power plants.” Financial transactions of coal-fired power plant operators would only be supported if the transition strategy with the Paris agreement on climate change is compatible, or the transaction is with renewable energies.
The Credit Suisse acknowledge your part of the responsibility in the fight against climate change by supporting the Transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy, a spokeswoman for the Bank. The CS have tightened their policies regarding sensitive industries in the last few years. The Bank was also involved, since 2010, to around 110 transactions in the area of renewable energies and energy efficiency of over 94 billion dollars. You belong in this area of the world’s leading banks.
While the big banks Walk slowly, rises in the case of professional investors, such as pension funds in Switzerland, the demand for sustainable investments for a few months. 2017 increased according to Swiss Sustainable Finance in Switzerland, according to sustainability criteria invested assets by 82 percent in 2017. Around 390 billion Swiss francs are invested. Also, the number of products increases. Hardly a Bank or an asset Manager, launched a sustainable investment vehicle. In these days, the Bank has placed Raiffeisen, the first sustainable bond in the Swiss market. “Swiss investors are able to invest in energy-efficient, low-emission and non-profit housing”, it is said.
green
The wild growth of green investment products, to name just feeds the suspicion that many of them are not so sustainable. “Today it is too easy to be called green,” says Tobias Reichmuth, founder of the sustainable infrastructure systems specialist company Susi Partners. To him the consequence of missing: for example, If banks wanted to consistently be sustainable, they should not Fund companies in the fossil energy area, or Pipelines.
In the world of Finance concepts such as sustainability, Impact Investment or social investment criteria (ESG) have just economic – but they are defined. Reichmuth don’t like the Fig leaves in the Finance industry: “Every company may claim to be a sustainable Investor.” On many brochures, a wind Turbine today is shown – what’s in it, so how the money is created, then often do little with wind energy or sustainability. Tariq Fancy, the world’s largest asset Manager Blackrock for sustainable Investments, said recently this newspaper: “There is a General confusion about what sustainable Investments are.”
criteria
A number of industry initiatives, such as the exclusion of arms companies from major stock market indices, or political Attempts to clarity – not managed it yet. As if there weren’t already enough initiatives, and now the EU, with the topic: she is currently working to define ecological forms of investment.
Many investors rely on soft sustainability criteria. You may exclude certain sectors, such as, for example, weapons manufacturers only, or from all the Oil companies to choose the one that works on most clean. Large sovereign wealth funds like that of Norway in this regard, also in Switzerland, there are corresponding lists.
“I think there is no clean Oil company,” said Reichmuth, Susi Partners. With exclusion criteria, you do nothing wrong, but hard Numbers are better. “We measure how much CO2 each investment is saved.” Also included, how much CO2 has been caused, for example, in the creation of the wind farm. “Net a wind Park is worth already after less than a year of operation,” says Reichmuth.
Among the different investment criteria of the investors, sustainability is often not so important. “Why someone invests his money, as long as we can achieve a sustainable effect, is ultimately not important,” says Reichmuth. Therefore, the return expectations of the professional investors of the company are not lower than for other Investments. Around one billion Swiss francs managed by the company currently. This amount is expected to double in the next 12 to 18 months.
UN warns
The industry is hoping for a change in the law in Switzerland, a lot. From next year, local pension funds are allowed to invest more in infrastructure projects, the appropriate rate is then loosened. Abroad there are already sustainability requirements. In Sweden or the Netherlands, pension funds must invest the funds, at least partially, in a sustainable way.
just a few days ago, the UN has called for Reform of the global financial system. Although 75 percent of the investors would be the impact of their investment, but would targets without far-reaching reforms of the financial system, such as the mitigation of climate change or the fight against poverty by 2030 is not achieved. (Tages-Anzeiger.ch/Newsnet)
Created: 16.04.2019, 20:02 PM
