BNP Paribas is raising its ambitions by strengthening its commitments to exit coal financing. In particular, the Group plans to accelerate its exclusion plan for OECD countries.
A reduction in the number of coal-related customers
In a press release published on May 11, 2020, BNP Paribas announces an acceleration of its exclusion plan for OECD countries.
In November 2019, the bank had announced its intention to reduce its exposure to thermal coal to zero by 2030 in EU countries, and by 2040 in the rest of the world. In response to criticism from a number of NGOs, BNP Paribas recently extended to all OECD countries its target of ending the use of coal by its electricity-generating customers by 2030. The banking group points out that the majority of these customers are located in Europe and other OECD countries.
In its press release, BNP Paribas states that customers "whose share of coal-related sales exceeds 25%" will no longer be accepted. This new policy should lead to a reduction of almost half in the number of customers using coal for part of their electricity production. In addition, the European bank will pursue its commitment to rapidly terminate relationships with "customers developing new coal-fired generation capacity".
Coal phase-out still "in its infancy" for NGOs
BNP Paribas' initial announcements in November 2019 had drawn criticism from NGOs, who considered that they should also concern OECD countries. The new measures put in place should enable it to gain points. Reclaim France and Friends of the Earth France describe them as "improvements".
However, NGOs still consider the timetable for a complete phase-out of coal revealed by the bank to be "in its infancy". As a reminder, the bank is identified as the biggest French financier of companies developing new coal-fired power plants, with 2.2 billion euros granted to these players in 2019. The organizations regret that its commitments "only concern coal-fired power generation", unlike those of Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel and AXA, which concern the entire value chain.
Reclaim France thus recommends that BNP Paribas "publish the details of its commitments in a future sectoral policy", "specify strict exclusion criteria in this policy" and ask its remaining portfolio clients "to adopt a public plan" detailing the closure of their coal infrastructures.