Banks must include measures on CO2 emissions in lending decisions for maritime transport

LONDON (Reuters) – A leading group of banks will for the first time make efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in their lending decisions to shipping companies, leaders said Tuesday.

International shipping accounts for 2.2% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the long-term goal of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in the United States is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50%. % from 2008 levels by 2050.

Working with not-for-profit organizations, the Global Maritime Forum, the Rocky Mountain Institute and UCL Energy Institute at London University, 11 banks have put in place a framework to measure the carbon intensity of the funding portfolios of the maritime transport.

The banks involved in the "Poseidon Principles" initiative, which will establish a common basis for determining whether or not the loan portfolios comply with the climate objectives adopted by the IMO, represent about US $ 1/5 billion or US $ 100 billion. . overall portfolio of maritime transport financing.

The results will be published annually in individual sustainability reports and the data will be obtained by banks from borrowers under existing loan agreements.

Although the IMO last month agreed on stricter energy efficiency targets for certain types of ships, environmentalists are demanding more ambitious targets.

"We are helping the shipping industry to responsibly enter the 21st century," said Michael Parker, Global Head of Shipping at Citigroup.

"HUGE ROLE"

The people involved so far are Citigroup, Societe Generale, DNB, ABN Amro, Amsterdam Commercial Bank, Credit Agricole CIB, Danish Ship Finance, Danske Bank, DVB, ING and Nordea.

"Banks have an important role to play here because Chinese credit banks and lenders around the world are providing approximately $ 450 billion in senior debt to the sector and nearly 70,000 commercial vessels," said Paul Taylor. Global Head of Shipping and Offshore with Societe Generale CIB. I said.

Banks will, in the longer term, be more selective about which ships they will include in their credit portfolios, bankers said.

"Will there be companies that will have difficulty obtaining financing because their vessels are less efficient? Yes, that will be a consequence – but it will not be used to search for these companies and find a way to get them. out, Citigroup Parker said.

Oivind Haraldsen, Danske Bank's Global Transportation Manager, said more institutions would join efforts to reduce the sector's carbon footprint.

"We must all press. As banks, we probably have more power than we knew, "he said.