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How can banks contribute to climate change goals?

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I write about the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence technology and its possible impacts on society. Originally from England, I spent some time at the BBC in London before moving to Switzerland to join SWI swissinfo.ch.

Following the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, banks have stepped up their pledge to green up finance.

But NGOs and pressure groups have so far been critical of many sustainable finance efforts.

The Swiss government insists that banks should be left to self-regulate. Other parties disagree and call for enforceable rules to prevent greenwashing.

Do you think the financial industry has the expertise and motive to properly direct investments into sustainable causes?

From the article Switzerland grapples with challenge of greening its banks


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Contributions must adhere to our guidelines. If you have questions or wish to suggest other ideas for debates, please, get in touch!
Pendak Carrer
Pendak Carrer

Expertise — YES, Motive — NO. As a CEO you will have a painful session to justify Quarterly Earnings drop with restraint in financing carbon emitting ventures — more especially if you were operating in Australia, which depends on coal production and exports in their economy.

曠野洋一
曠野洋一
The following contribution has been automatically translated from JA.

Use only electronic money for currency.

Once a year, erase all electronic money. Then, all people are given 10 million Japanese yen for one year.

In this way, the gap between the rich and the poor will disappear and there will be no need to compete for business.

So, no more wasteful goods will be produced, and activities that affect climate change will be reduced.

Crime will also almost completely disappear.

通貨を電子マネーだけにする。

１年に１度、すべての電子マネーを消去する。そして、すべての人に日本円で１千万円を支給して、１年を過ごす。

こうすることで、貧富の差がなくなり、ビジネスの競争をする必要もなくなる。

だから、無駄な商品は作られなくなり、気候変動に影響のある活動が減る。

犯罪もほとんどなくなる。

Copper-Lake-Walen
Copper-Lake-Walen
The following contribution has been automatically translated from JA.

The media and the UN are pushing the CO2 climate change theory on the world.
There is no proven scientific evidence that CO2 is the cause of global warming.
Those who own the media and the UN are brainwashing the world.
Heavy rains, heat waves, dry spells, floods, and rising and falling ocean temperatures have been repeated tens of thousands of times around the globe.
Many scholars disagree with the CO2 climate change theory. But the medias are excluded.
This point alone makes this theory suspect. The arguments for and against are compared on the table.
This is the way the UN should be. 'Climate change is now the work of man. There is no room for doubt."
If you are going to be emotional about something like that, you are not going to gain credibility.
Banks should not understand. There is no greater danger than pretending to understand something you don't understand and then deciding where to invest.
Please don't pretend to understand what you don't understand.

メデイアや国連がCO２気候変動説を世界に押しつけている。
CO２が地球温暖化の原因 という科学的根拠は証明されていない。
メデイアを所有する者と国連を所有する者が、世界を洗脳している。
豪雨、熱波、乾燥、洪水、海水温度の上下、地球上では何万回も繰り返されてきた。
CO２気候変動説に異を唱える学者も多数。しかしメデイアは排除。
この点だけでこの説は怪しい。賛成論、反対論をテーブルに並べて比べる。
これが国連のあるべき姿。「もはや気候変動は人間の仕業。疑う余地はない。」
などと感情論が出るようでは信頼は得られない。
銀行は解らないはず。解らないのに解ったふりで投資先を決めるほどの危険はない。
解らないものを解ってるフリだけはやめて欲しい。

Anonymous
Anonymous
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.

They can't. It's not their job. It is policy that must identify the goals and the means to achieve them.

The banks must instead give work to the greatest possible number of Swiss because without full employment on our territory governments will not have the resources to be able to achieve the climate objectives that have been set.

Non possono. Non e' il loro lavoro. E' la politica che deve individuare gli obbiettivi ed i mezzi per conseguirli.

Le banche devono invece dare lavoro al maggior numero possibile di svizzeri perche' senza una piena occupazione sul nostro territorio i governi non avranno le risorse per poter raggiungere gli obbiettivi climatici che si sono prefissati.

Anonymous
Anonymous

The entire banking industry is so lacking of integrity and morals...it is disgusting. Money, money, money makes the world go 'round...even if it kills us - bankers included.

Francesco@magistra.org
Francesco@magistra.org
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.

The whole climate issue is now out of control, with countries competing for who invents more rules and restrictions and burdens on the private sector. Without going into the CO2 issue itself, that after 30 years of constant temperatures and NO ocean rise could at least leave a little perplexed, it should be remembered that the big difference is never made by politics but by private enterprise. There is a form of self-regulation of the system, based on the economics of supply and demand. Governments can only take foolish measures, such as in Germany the shutdown of atomic power plants without having a plan B, but also in Switzerland where in part the same has happened for ideology and not for common sense.

Alternative sources of energy will appear, they are being studied, but the times are what they are and to force the hand with wind and solar power plants when at the same time you want to convert the car park to electric is pure madness. Unfortunately, the narrative has pushed the electorate into the arms of the coalition fossi-green, strongly marked by ideology is too little by science and experience. Suffice it to say that the city of Zurich could elect a 24-year-old Green candidate - what does he know about life?

I am concerned by what I see happening but perhaps this is the path humanity needs to follow to arrive at a more balanced and just approach to our planet .

Tutta la tematica climatica é ormai fuori di controllo, con i paesi facendo a gara per chi si inventa più regole e restrizioni e oneri al privato. Senza voler entrare in merito alla tematica CO2 in sé, che dopo 30 anni di temperature costanti e di NON innalzamento degli oceani potrebbe per lo meno lasciare un po’ perplessi, va ricordato che L grande differenza non la fa mai la politica ma l’impresa privata. Vi è una forma di autoregolazione del sistema, basata sull’economia della domanda è dell’offerta. I governi possono solo prendere misure scellerate, come in Germania lo spegnimento delle centrali atomiche senza avere un piano B, ma anche in Svizzera dove in parte è successo lo stesso per ideologia e non per buon senso.

Le fonti alternative di energia appariranno, sono allo studio, ma i tempi sono quelli che sono e forzare la mano con impianti eolici e solari quando allo stesso tempo si vuole convertire il parco autoveicoli all’elettrico è pura follia. Purtroppo la narrativa ha spinto l’elettorato nelle braccia della coalizione fossi-verde, marcata fortemente dall’ideologia è troppo poco dalla scienza e dall’esperienza. Basti pensare che la città di Zurigo potrebbe eleggere un candidato di 24 anni dei Verdi - cosa sa della vita?

Sono preoccupato da quanto vedo succedere ma forse è il cammino che deve seguire l’umanità per arrivare a un approccio più equilibrato e giusto con il nostro pianeta .

Wheat-A-Bix
Wheat-A-Bix

Sustainable finance as an investment is not a great performer in terms of capital gains for retail investors. Banks will simply look to maximise their margin on the transaction pass on the costs to the consumer, similar to what is seen in the electricity market in California and currently in the UK. Bank can only contribute if they are able to keep the profit margins within reason. Banks could be helpful if they were to fund start ups at younger age, rather than favour the big companies and Private Equity clients. Switzerland would like to be the hub for sustainable finance as this is where profits can be booked more easily and capital gains are not taxed.

Francesco@magistra.org
Francesco@magistra.org
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.

In my opinion there is no need for measures, on the contrary, as always measures increase costs and bureaucracy, both state and non-state. It is not the state intervention that changes things but the awareness of the population and the economy. If the price of oil returns to 150 a barrel, this is the greatest stimulus to the search for energy alternatives.

But I would like to add one thing: it is true that the glaciers in Switzerland have receded, but in Greenland they have been advancing for several years; the polar bears, once reduced to 5000, are now 25000; the average temperature in 2021 was 1.5% below the 20-year average. So I ask: where is this warming? CO2 is life, not death. And the major cause of climate change is the sun with its short (11 years) and long (200 years) cycles.
For the record: we are entering the Mauldin minimum of the solar cycle, this usually represents a mini ice age.

But to get back to funding: we are not ioocrites! Europe has just declared nuclear power as "green energy"; the world has never had as much oil as it does these days. Germany and other "green" countries are freezing to death because it has not been thought that the olive tree does not produce without wind. And on top of that we are pushing electric vehicles forgetting that we do not have the necessary electricity.

For me it's all nonsense and I have a bad feeling: the story will not have a happy end

Secondo me nessun bisogno di misure, anzi, come sempre le misure aumentano i costi e la burocrazia statale e non. Non èl’intervento statale che cambia le cose ma la presa di coscienza della popolazione e l’economia. Se il prezzo del petrolio torna a 150 il barile, questo è il maggior stimolo alla ricerca di alternative energetiche.

Ma vorrei aggiungere una cosa: è vero che i ghiacciai in Svizzera sono retrocessi, ma in Groenlandia stanno avanzando da diversi anni; gli orsi polari, una volta ridotti a 5000, oggi sono 25000; la temperatura media nel 2021 è stata di 1.5% al di sotto della media dei 20 anni. E allora chiedo: dove è questo riscaldamento? Il CO2 è vita, non è morte. E la maggior causante di variazioni climatiche è il sole con i suoi cicli corti (11 anni) e quelli lunghi (200 anni).
Per la cronaca: stiamo entrando al minimo di Mauldin del ciclo solare, questo di solito rappresenta una mini era glaciale.

Ma per tornare ai finanziamenti: non siamo ioocriti! L’Europa ha appena dichiarato il nucleare come “energia ecologica”; al mondo non si è ma impimpati tanto petrolio come in questi giorni. La Germania e altri paesi “verdi” stanno morendo di freddo perché non si è pensato che l’è olivo non produce senza vento. E oltretutto stiamo spingendo i veicoli elettrici dimenticando che non abbiamo l’energia elettrica necessaria.

Per me è tutta un’assurdità e ho una brutta sensazione: la storia non avrà un happy end

Gaz11
Gaz11

Banks can not finance urban developments or developers that have projects that dont comply with passive solar design principles, they could roll this out as a guiding principle, of only financing developments that are quality assured, not bling compliant but userbility and sustainability compliant

Anonymous
Anonymous

STOP supporting investments in the fossil fuel industries. Detox!!!

makssiem
makssiem
The following contribution has been automatically translated from AR.

They should be advised to punish double childbearing.

أن ينصحوا بمُعاقبة الانجاب المُضاعف.

Leith
Leith
The following contribution has been automatically translated from FR.

Work

Travailler

Rafael Surber Morales de Arnao
Rafael Surber Morales de Arnao
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.

Governments, Banks including Crypto Banks should learn and release once and for all that the entire Global Community is in an Antropocentric Phase.

It is glaciologically proven that all mountain & volcano glaciers of this earth will have melted away to over 90% by 2099 at the latest, this will trigger the desertification of the entire Amazon.
Due to the absence of the main sustainer and regulator of global climate currents, the climate will be very dramatic with many heat deaths ...

Only if we

Regierungen, Banken inklusive Crypto Banken sollten lernen und ein für alle Mal realisieren, dass die gesamte Globale Gemeinschaft sich in einer Antropozentrischen Endphase befindet.

Es ist Glaziologisch bewiesen dass alle Berg & Vulkan Gletscher dieser Erde bis spätestens 2099 zu über 90% weggeschmolzen sein werden, dies wird die Desertifizierung des kompletten Amazonas auslösen.
Durch das Wegbleiben des Hauptunterhalter und Regulator der globalen Klimaströmungen, wird das Klima sehr dramatisch mit vielen Hitzetoten ...

max
max

ESG investing is the new buzzword. When you use the “follow the money” principle you will come to the sobering conclusion that expectations on what the financial industry can actually do, are wildly exaggerated. Here is why.

What the general public can see, are the colossal amounts invested in stocks and these portfolios do indeed include companies that are not so ethical or sustainable. One way would be to shame them to make it harder for such companies to get financing. The problem Is that, in many cases, their dirty business is very profitable and they do not need it. Let us be clear, 99% of these portfolios belong to clients, not to the financial institutions. Who owns the money has the say. Because it is good for prestige, several institutions have started offering ESG compliant alternatives that, so far, have just met a polite yawn from wealthy investors.

In the relatively small area of commercial banking, institutions could exercise direct influence by turning down demands for trade financing from companies that are not compliant. However, this part of the business is invisible to the public and only the lawmakers could effectively make an impact.

Business is business, also for the political class. As we know, the initiative to introduce a sugar tax was turned down because of the powerful sugar lobby. Instead, they simply directed to lower the sugar contents in yogurts. Along these lines, the best to expect is a guideline for pension funds to become more ESG compliant. In practice, this would achieve very little but it sounds good.

joeyayoub
joeyayoub

Switzerland has a very long history of banking-related scandals that are very well-documented by such groups as Public Eye but also various academic and research groups. I do not view this as any different. The ongoing policy to allow banks to self-regulate should be viewed as simply given banks license to get away with crimes.

Switzerland tends to portray itself as a leader in fighting global climate change when it is in fact at the core of the problem. We can easily cite the country's status as a hub for oil and mineral traders as evidence for this, not to mention its banks' ongoing funding of fossil fuels, dangerous minerals, and the arms industry. Switzerland wants to have its cake and eat it too, and it is the global South that is paying the price for this.

Anonymous
Anonymous
@joeyayoub

1. Scandals are not privy to only certain sectors or persons. However, the richer one is, the more interesting the news will be read by "jealous" people

2. Investments are money spent to make more money. Without investments or innovation, we will all be still living in the stone age.

3. I am not saying banks or switzerland are totally innocent but I am saying let us not keep saying the rich guys are the problem and they should solve the problems. Stop beating up the scapegoat.

4. I have only sympathy for beat up guys, regardless of whether they are rich bankers or poor office clerks. I am not pro-bankers. Another likely accusation coming at me for "speaking up".

Anonymous
Anonymous

I do not agree with this.
Why should banks be made accountable to climate change measures?

Because they have money?

So only people with (much) money (as if it is their fault) should contribute to climate change measures?

It is in the interest of every single person on earth. Not just banks.

Anonymous
Anonymous
@Anonymous

Because banks continue to support investments in fossil fuels. Profits before anything else...

Matthew Allen
Matthew Allen SWI SWISSINFO.CH
@Anonymous

I see your point entirely HAT, but it's the banks that will channel people's money into sustainable investments and provide such products for people to invest in.

They will play a valuable role as a conduit and enabler of sustainable investing for institutional investors and the general public.

The challenge is getting this right and building the proper framework that effectively gets money to where it's needed.

Anonymous
Anonymous
@Matthew Allen

Banks are as transparent as mud in their investment portfolio.
Banks are profit-making companies first and other goals are secondary.
Of course, if, in theory, banks are forced to declare their investment projects publicly, subjected to public scrutiny, then perhaps the shareholders or banking customer (common people) may take their monies from X bank to Y bank.

But if Bank X is almost the same as Bank Y, there is really no choice. How does one choose a bank as an investment? Ethics? Profits?
There, you have your answer already.

LoL
LoL
@Anonymous

Just dont use a bank, they are useless unless you are rich

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR