We have signed up to the UN’s Collective Commitment to Climate Action

London. Today, along with 30 of our peer banks, we committed to align our portfolios to reflect and finance the low-carbon, climate-resilient economy required to limit global warming to well-below 2, striving for 1.5 degrees Celsius (full Commitment below).

Commenting on the Commitment, Bill Winters, Group CEO, Standard Chartered, said: “Today’s launch of the UN’s Collective Goal on Climate unites a broad and diverse group of banks, with whom we can collaborate to further our existing efforts under the Katowice Commitment and our commitment to reduce emissions from our client financing.”

We also this week also became a Founding Signatory of the Principles for Responsible Banking, committing to strategically align our business with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Mr Winters continued: “We fully support the Principles of Responsible Banking, which create a single framework embedding sustainability at strategic, portfolio and transactional levels across all business areas. As we operate in markets which are among the most vulnerable to environmental and other social pressures, we have both the opportunity and responsibility to help develop a sustainable banking system — one that meets society’s goals, and where our actions and consequences are transparent and accountable.”

Collective Commitment to Climate Action

We, 31 Signatory Banks of the Principles for Responsible Banking, representing USD 12 trillion in assets, make the following Collective Commitment to Climate Action:

In accordance with the Paris Agreement, we commit to align our portfolios to reflect and finance the low-carbon, climate-resilient economy required to limit global warming to well-below 2, striving for 1.5 degrees Celsius. Putting our commitments under the Principles for Responsible Banking into practice and building on the pioneering Katowice Commitment, we commit to mobilize our products, services and relationships to help facilitate the economic transition necessary to achieve climate neutrality.

We commit to do so by:

• Focusing our efforts where we have or can have the most significant impact, i.e. initially focusing on the most carbon-intensive and climate-vulnerable sectors within our portfolios, which are key to the transition to a low-carbon economy and to building resilience in the most climate-vulnerable communities.
• Engaging and working with our clients on their transition. As banks, this is how we can contribute most effectively to realizing the changes required in the real economy to achieve a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy.
• Working together and supporting each other in developing each bank’s capabilities and the necessary methodologies to measure climate impact and alignment with global and local climate goals.
• Engaging with governments, scenario providers and other relevant entities on the development of clear and feasible sector-specific roadmaps to reach well-below 2 and strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius for all relevant sectors and across different geographies.
• No later than within three years of signing up to this commitment, setting and publishing sector-specific, scenario-based targets for portfolio alignment.
• Already taking action while we work on methodologies and develop targets. We commit to, commencing within 12 months of signing, publishing and implementing a set of measures we will take within our banks and together with our clients to support and accelerate the shift towards low-carbon, climate-resilient technologies, business models and societies.

To ensure each bank’s individual as well as our collective accountability for our progress, we commit to report back annually on our individual and biennially on our collective progress in implementing this commitment, in line with our reporting under the Principles for Responsible Banking.