Standard Chartered to stop financing new coal-fired power plants

Standard Chartered said it will stop financing new coal-fired power plants anywhere in the world as part of its commitment to supporting the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The move follows "detailed consultation with a range of stakeholders", according to a statement on Tuesday from the London-based bank.

Standard Chartered said its existing commitments were excluded from its new policy on coal energy. It currently has 14 project financing facilities in seven markets, which fund coal-power stations.

HSBC Holdings, Societe Generale and Deutsche Bank are among banks which have made similar pledges. Japanese lenders, among the biggest funders of coal projects, have also begun to shift towards more climate-friendly policies.

Standard Chartered’s initiative marks an advance on the Japanese and other lenders active in Southeast Asia, according to Julien Vincent, an executive director of Market Forces, which lobbies financial firms and governments on environmental issues.

“Standard Chartered’s policy not only removes a critical source of finance for new coal power plants, but sends a powerful signal to its competitors,” Vincent said in an emailed statement.