Asset management arm is not bound by pledge to stop financing coal even though new plants will emit hazardous air pollution
A loophole in HSBC’s pledge to phase out financing for coal by 2040 will allow the bank to support companies with plans to build more than 70 new coal plants, which could cause an estimated 18,700 deaths from air pollution a year, according to a report.
The bank’s asset management arm, which is not included in the coal phase-out pledge, holds ownership stakes in companies that plan to build 73 coal power plants across 11 countries in Africa and Asia, almost enough to supply fossil fuel electricity to all the UK’s homes three times over.
