Following its two sustainability commitments in 2017, New York-based bank JPMorgan Chase announced additional steps to address climate change and further promote sustainable development. Among others, the bank committed to stop financing coal-fired power plants or oil and gas exploration projects in the Arctic.
In 2017, JPMorgan Chase committed to facilitate $200 billion in clean financing by 2025 and source renewable energy for 100% of its global power needs by 2020.
“Both of these goals are expected to be reached by the end of 2020“, the bank announced.
This new commitment is intended to address a broader set of challenges in the developing world and developed countries where social and economic development gaps persist.
These efforts will be focused on the following objectives:
- Green: Supporting climate action, clean water and waste management;
- Social: Increasing access to housing, education and healthcare; and
- Economic Development: Advancing infrastructure, innovation and growth.
Specifically, this year, the bank commits to facilitate $200 billion to advance the objectives of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including $50 billion toward green initiatives that also fulfill the 2017 clean financing target.
Among others, the bank commits to support Climate Policy Solutions, as it has joined the Climate Leadership Council, a group promoting a bipartisan roadmap for a revenue neutral carbon tax-and-dividend framework for the US and it is also working with Business Roundtable and other trade organizations on market-based policy solutions to address climate change.
In addition, to facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy, the firm is expanding financing restrictions on certain activities to include:
- Not providing lending, capital markets or advisory services to companies deriving the majority of their revenues from the extraction of coal, and by 2024, phasing out remaining credit exposure to such companies;
- Not providing project financing or other forms of asset-specific financing where the proceeds will be used to develop a new, or refinance an existing, coal-fired power plant, unless it is utilizing carbon capture and sequestration technology; and
- Not providing project financing or other forms of asset-specific financing where the proceeds will be used for new oil and gas development in the Arctic.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management is:
- Enhancing its investment stewardship process to increase its engagement with companies around five priorities, including climate change;
- Utilizing data science to develop a proprietary ESG scoring framework; and
- Becoming a signatory to Climate Action 100+.
