Barclays Commits to Net Zero Emissions by 2050

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Barclays has announced a new ambition to align its global financing with the Paris Climate Agreement by setting a net zero by 2050 target for its financed emissions. Investors had urged the company to reduce its massive carbon footprint in a shareholder resolution filed by a group of investors led by ShareAction, a charity that promotes responsible investing.

Barclays is seventh in a list of lenders to the fossil fuel industry, with almost $120 billion lent between 2016 and 2019, the most for any European bank, data from US pressure group Rainforest Action Network showed.

JPMorgan Chase is another major financial institution that has recently announced efforts in the environmental health and safety arena. Just last month, the company announced that it expects to reach its goal of 100% renewable energy sourcing for global power needs across its buildings, branches, and data centers by the end of this year.

The global financial services firm with assets of $2.6 trillion initially set the 100% renewable energy target for 2020 in 2017. JPMorgan Chase’s strategy to get there included:

• Reducing energy consumption by implementing energy-efficient lighting and other technologies.
• Deploying onsite renewable energy at retail branches and commercial buildings globally.
• Executing power purchase agreements (PPAs) to support the development of new renewable energy projects on grids from which the company purchases energy.
• Purchasing renewable energy certificates (RECs) to cover their remaining electricity supply.