On Wednesday, Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group stated that it would stop funding new coal power projects and close all loans for coal by 2050 as the bank faces continuous pressures from investors to comply with the climate concessions ahead of its annual shareholders’ meeting in June.
By 2030, Mizuho would cut half of its outstanding balance of JPY300 billion (USD2.8 billion) in loans to coal power projects starting in March 2020. By 2050, the balance would be eliminated fully.
According to Refinitiv SDC Platinum, Mizuho is the third-biggest lender to coal power and mining globally in the past five years.
In March, a shareholder resolution called Mizuho to step up on a plan and set targets to be more in line with the Paris Agreement.
However, the statement is deemed to be too unambitious by some activist groups. Kiko Network, a Japanese activist group that focuses on coal and also holds shares in Mizuho, commented that reaching zero financing by 2050 on coal projects is too late.
Kiko Network’s international director Kimiko Hirata said, “Coal power needs to be phased out before the 2040s globally. That means reaching zero by 2050 is too late.”
Investment funds with nearly USD200 billion in assets and holding shares in Mizuho said in March that they would back the Kiko Network motion.
