We need bold action from banks on climate change

The text asserts that banks face significant physical and financial risks by continuing to fund high-carbon sectors like coal mining. While some European banks have improved climate-related disclosures following TCFD recommendations and introduced green financial products, the author argues that overall action remains insufficient. The document identifies barriers to transition—including regulatory gaps, data scarcity, and short-term profitability of fossil fuels—but maintains that these do not justify inaction given the long-term risk of stranded assets and the need for $359 trillion in spending by 2050 to avoid catastrophic climate change.

• Global banks continue to fund high-carbon industries, specifically coal mining and coal power plants, which contradicts the goals of the Paris agreement and exposes them to physical risks from extreme weather and the risk of assets becoming less profitable.
• To avoid catastrophic climate change, it is estimated that the world needs to spend a total of $359 trillion by 2050, though current spending levels are far below this requirement.
• Banks are increasingly adopting the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations due to investor pressure, with some already publishing climate strategies and loan book sector breakdowns, though full disclosure may take several years.
• Banks cite several obstacles to taking concrete climate action, including a lack of available data for scenario analysis, the continued short-term profitability of high-carbon loans (often under five years), and a lack of supportive legislation in certain regions.
• Legislative action can drive bank leadership on climate issues, as evidenced by the impact of climate-related disclosure legislation in France on French banks.

APA

Hierzig, S. (2018). We need bold action from banks on climate change. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/we-need-bold-action-from-banks-on-climate-change/

Chicago

Hierzig, Sonia. We need bold action from banks on climate change. World Economic Forum, 2018. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/we-need-bold-action-from-banks-on-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Hierzig |first1=Sonia |title=We need bold action from banks on climate change |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=17 May 2018 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/we-need-bold-action-from-banks-on-climate-change/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{hierzig2018need, author = {Hierzig, Sonia}, title = {{We need bold action from banks on climate change}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2018}, month = may, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/we-need-bold-action-from-banks-on-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }