Société Générale to halve oil and gas exposure by 2025
A view of the Societe Generale bank headquarters in La Defense, west of Paris, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013.
By James Thomas with AFP
Published on 18/09/2023 – 11:36•Updated 12:07
Share this article
Comments
In addition to the 2025 target, the bank said it plans to cut its upstream oil and gas exposure by 80% by 2030.
French bank Société Générale has announced that it will halve its upstream oil and gas exposure by 2025, in comparison to 2019 levels.
The bank said in a press release published on Monday that this is up from the 20% reduction it had previously pledged.
“We will accelerate the decarbonisation of our businesses and work closely with our clients and partners to maximize our positive impact at the forefront of the energy, environmental and social transition,” SocGen CEO Slawomir Krupa said in a statement.
In addition to the 2025 target, the bank said it plans to cut its upstream oil and gas exposure by 80% by 2030, also in comparison to 2019 levels, as well as shelving its offer of financial products and services dedicated to new oil and gas production field projects at the beginning of 2024.
Climate NGOs are often quick to target large, global banks for their role in exacerbating the climate crisis due to their funding of new oil projects.
SocGen said on Monday that it is launching a €1 billion transition investment fund dedicated to energy transition solutions and nature-based projects to support the UN’s sustainable development goals.
It also outlined new financial objectives relating to profitability, operational efficiency and risk management.
Four months after taking the reins, CEO Krupa will be hoping that the announcement will pique investors’ interest in the bank, which is looking for a new lease of life.
