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Deutsche Bank stops investing in coal projects


Deutsche Bank and its subsidiaries will not grant new financing for greenfield thermal coal mining and new coal-fires power plant construction as part of its commitment to meeting climate goals, it has said.

The bank has revised its approach and guidelines on coal power and mining, it said.

Deutsche Bank will also gradually reduce its existing exposure to the thermal coal mining sector.

"By signing the Paris Pledge for Action alongside over 400 private and public organisations, the bank has welcomed the universal climate agreement made at the 2015 Climate Summit in Paris. This emphasises the bank’s commitment to protect the climate and to contribute to the overall targets set by the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels," it said.

Energy expert Kate Turner of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com said:  "There is a growing shift towards divestment of fossil fuel investments which may be driven by the short term trends in the coal market, but this announcement has particular significance as if policymakers stand by the commitments made in the Paris Agreement then demand for carbon intensive fuels may decline significantly in the years ahead while demand for clean generation technologies will increase."

"This is clearly positive news in support of the need to do more to tackle the devastating effects of climate change, particularly amidst statements that the US will seek to pull out of the Paris Agreement," Turner said.

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