SUSTAINABLE FINANCE TARGET RAISED TO 700 BILLION EUROS
BBVA has increased its target for lending to businesses the Spanish bank considers sustainable to 700 billion euros ($732.7 billion) over the next five years, it said on Monday. The lender, which last year established a new global finance unit focused on clean technologies and innovation, had set a previous target of 300 billion euros for the period 2018-2025. Growing public pressure for action to limit climate change has spurred countries and companies to promise emissions reductions.
- As banks like BBVA increasingly prioritize sustainability, they may inadvertently create a perverse incentive structure that favors investments in green technologies over those with more substantial social or environmental benefits.
- Can the banking industry truly reconcile its commitment to sustainable finance with its historical role as an enabler of environmentally destructive industries, such as coal mining and fossil fuel extraction?