Banking giant Wells Fargo will commit $200 billion in sustainable financing by 2030

Wells Fargo will accelerate its commitments to tackling climate change with new plans to support low-carbon and conservation businesses.

The banking behemoth, which has total assets of $1.9 trillion, has pledged to spend $200 billion over the next decade, 50 percent of which will go into renewable energy, clean technologies, sustainable transport, and green bonds. The remainder will finance sustainable agriculture, recycling, and conservation projects.

Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan broke the news during a keynote conference speech last week, commenting that the bank is “committed to taking a leadership role in supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy and promoting environmental sustainability through our products and services, operations and culture, and philanthropy.”

The new commitment follows on from its 2012 goal of investing $30 billion in clean technologies by 2020, which it met within three years.

Wells Fargo has also committed to greater transparency on the carbon intensity of its portfolio, and it will regularly report on the impacts of its lending, in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure.

“With this commitment, we are combining a strong financial goal with enhanced transparency and disclosure practices that we believe will lead to sector-wide progress on responsible, sustainable finance,” Sloan added.

Mindy Lubber, CEO of the non-profit organisation Ceres, said the bank’s new commitments were “significant” and help contribute to the growing momentum within the financial sector to make more investments in clean energy.

“More and more investors and companies understand the economic imperative and strategic long-term benefits of keeping global temperature rise to well-below 2-degrees Celsius,” she added.

In March, Spanish bank BBVA also announced plans to spend €100 billion by 2025 on fighting climate change. HSBC will also invest a similar amount in low-carbon projects.

Photo Credit: Ken Teegardin

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