LONDON -- Europe's biggest bank announced Wednesday it will no longer finance new oil and gas fields as part of its updated climate strategy.
Climate campaigners welcomed the move, saying the bank, HSBC, provided a new baseline for other major banks, but urged the bank to go further.
HSBC said it will still provide financing to existing fossil fuel projects "in line with current and future declining global oil and gas demand." It will also continue to provide finance and advisory services to energy sector clients but will assess plans to transition to clean energy, the bank said.
"It sets a new minimum level of ambition for all banks committed to net zero," said Jeanne Martin, from the campaign group ShareAction.
But she added the change "doesn't deal with the much larger proportion of finance [HSBC] still provides to companies that have oil and gas expansion plans." She called for new proposals to address the issue of corporate-level financing for energy companies "as soon as possible."
In a 2021 report, the International Energy Agency said investments in new coal mines, and oil and gas wells need to end immediately if the world stands a chance of meeting its commitment in the Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.
Earlier this year, a group of institutional investors found several banks -- including HSBC -- they said needed to significantly step up efforts on climate if the Paris goal is to be met.