As the northern hemisphere continues to smoulder from devastating wildfires and many countries register record-breaking temperatures, the urgent need to take faster action on addressing climate change is demonstrable. Yet, it is estimated that up to $10tn per year in financing is going to be required to deliver on the Paris Agreement.
Clearly, banks have a crucial role to play in funding the economy-wide transition to net-zero carbon emissions, but are they moving fast enough? Who is leading the charge and who is lagging behind? These are the questions that, together with sustainable economy research and media organisation Corporate Knights (CK), we looked to answer in the second annual Sustainable Banking Revenues Ranking, which examines how much of banks’ overall revenue is being generated from sustainable lending, investments and underwriting. The ranking is based on the highest sustainable revenue ratio, rather than the highest absolute sustainable revenue total.
