HSBC, one of the world’s biggest banks, has hired Sir Nicholas Stern, who wrote the UK government’s much-discussed report on the economics of climate change last year, to be an adviser to Stephen Green, its chairman. In May HSBC gave the largest donation ever by a UK business to groups researching and trying to tackle climate change and its effects (FT stories may require subscription). 

Other banks including Citigroup and Bank of America have also launched well-publicised initiatives to support the fight against global warming.

One does not have to be a die-hard cynic to observe that trading in greenhouse gas emissions and financing new energy sources, to name just two, create massive business opportunities, and banks that fail to exploit those opportunities are failing their shareholders. But as with many new markets. it is not yet clear where the best opportunities will be, and which activities will end up being rejected as valueless. Which is why we see a group of the leading banks trying to bring some order to the carbon markets.

July 2nd, 2007 in Climate change | Permalink