Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland joined a growing number of financial institutions that are moving away from coal after it announced May 29 that it will no longer directly finance new coal-fired power stations or thermal coal mines.
The bank stated that it will cease lending money to mining and power companies that generate more than 40% of their revenues and electricity from coal, down from a previous threshold of 65%, Reuters reported. RBS also announced restrictions on financing for "oil sands or Arctic oil projects and unsustainable vegetation or peatland clearance projects."
RBS joins other giant financial services firms, including Deutsche Bank, Lloyd's Corp., Allianz Group and other major Japanese lenders that are pulling away from the coal industry.
