HSBC says it will phase out financing of thermal coal by 2040

HSBC Holdings is planning to phase out the financing of coal used for generating electricity by 2040, the latest bank to commit to ending support for the greenhouse gas-intensive fossil fuel. The London-based lender will stop financing thermal coal in the European Union and countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development by 2030, and all other nations a decade later, according to a statement Tuesday. Clients related to the energy source are expected to publish transition plans and those that aren’t compatible with HSBC’s goal to reach net-zero by the middle of the century won’t be provided with new finance.