BCS Barclays PLC

By Maitane Sardon

U.K. asset manager Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. has joined a coalition of investors asking Barclays to end its financing of fossil-fuel companies contributing to climate change.

The money manager, which holds 1.15% of Barclays' shares, added its name to a list of investors in the British bank including French asset manager Amundi, asset manager Sarasin & Partners and Nest, the largest U.K. pension fund by members.

The resolution, which will be voted on at Barclays's annual general meeting on May 7, calls on the bank to set and disclose targets to phase out financial services for energy companies that aren't aligned with the Paris Agreement.

The investor group, led by U.K.-based nonprofit ShareAction, also wants Barclays to report on its progress annually from 2021 onward.

"As investors, we expect boards and management teams to maintain a long-term mindset and appropriately manage key risks to their business. We see the goals of the resolution as entirely consistent with this approach," said Ashish Ray, head of governance and sustainability at Jupiter, adding that despite risks varying among companies, climate change is an issue that extends across most of them.

According to nonprofit Rainforest Action Network, since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, Barclays has provided  more than   $85 billion in financing to fossil-fuel companies and high-carbon projects such as tar sands and Arctic oil and gas.

Write to Maitane Sardon at maitane.sardon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 03, 2020 05:09 ET (10:09 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.