An HSBC banker responsible for responsible investment has been targeted by green activists after criticizing the “apocalyptic” tone of the climate debate.
Stuart Kirk, global head of responsible investment at HSBC Asset Management, told a City event that “throughout his 25-year career in finance,” there has always been some crazy work telling me about the end of the world. ”
In a slide accompanying his speech at a conference hosted by the Financial Times, he added that “unproven, piercing, partisan, self-serving, apocalyptic warnings are ALWAYS wrong.”
Kirk later said: “Who cares if Miami is six meters underwater in 100 years? Amsterdam has been six meters underwater for centuries and it’s a really nice place. We will deal with it. “
The comments do not keep pace with the financial industry, which is increasingly seeking to improve its green powers and provoked an immediate response from activists who said Mr Kirk should be fired.
Jana Martin, of the ShareAction investment campaign group, tweeted that the comments should “raise red flags” for HSBC’s asset management customers who are interested in net zero.
Bo O’Sullivan, a senior participant in the Bank’s campaign for our future, added that climate change poses a “material risk to financial assets, which Kirk should be well aware of, given its role in responsible investment.”
Nicholas Moreau, chief executive of HSBC’s investment division, said Mr Kirk’s remarks did not reflect the bank’s views “in any way”.
Mr Kirk, who has been working for 11 months, said he was concerned that pressure from activists was forcing the bank to spend time and money on an issue that should be a lower priority.
He said: “What worries me … is the amount of work these people make me do, the amount of regulation that comes through the pipes, the number of people on my team and at HSBC who deal with the financial risks of change. of the climate.
“I work for a bank that has been attacked by cryptocurrency. We have regulators in the United States trying to stop us. We have a problem with China. We are facing a housing crisis. We have a rise in interest rates. We have inflation going through the pipes and I’m being told to take the time … to watch something happen in 20 or 30 years.
“Proportionality is completely wrong.”
HSBC, Europe’s largest bank, escaped the backlash of major investors last year by pledging to phase out funding for coal-fired energy by 2040.
Mr Moreau said: “HSBC sees climate change as one of the most serious emergencies facing the planet and is committed to supporting its customers in their transition to net zero.
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