BNP Paribas Sets Emissions-Reduction Targets

By Maitane Sardon

BNP Paribas on Tuesday set out climate targets for the oil, gas, power and car companies it finances.

The French bank said that for the power and utility companies in its portfolio, it would reduce financed emissions by 30% relative to their power generation, using 2020 as a baseline and 2025 as a deadline.

The bank said by 2025 it would cut credit exposure to the upstream oil and gas industry by 12% and seek to reduce its credit exposure to the upstream oil industry by 25%. However, upstream oil and gas and refining represented only 1.3% of its total credit exposure at the end of last year, it said.

BNP Paribas said it was stepping up its pressure on the oil and gas companies that lack transition strategies compatible with limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Starting this year, it said it would no longer finance or invest in companies with more than 10% of their activities in tar sands and shale oil and gas.

It said that it would no longer finance or invest in oil and gas projects and related infrastructure in the Arctic and the Amazon regions.

BNP Paribas expects the share of electric vehicles in its portfolio to reach more than 25% in 2025, compared with 4% two years ago, it said.

The bank said it aims to gradually expand the targets to include capital-market activities such as helping companies issue stocks and bonds.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 03, 2022 05:55 ET (09:55 GMT)

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