HSBC invests $400 M to fight climate change

HSBC may claim to be the world’s local bank. But its claim to being the world’s largest investor among financial institutions to combat the urgent threat of climate change may be uncontested.

HSBC, or the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp., has invested $400 million to four global institutions known for their determination to fight climate change.

The recipients of the largest corporate donation are The Climate Group, Earthwatch Institute, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and the WorldWildlife Fund (WWF).

“The HSBC Climate Partnership is a groundbreaking, five-year partnership between HSBC and The Climate Group, Earthwatch Institute, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and WWF. The $100-million investment – the largest-ever corporate donation to each of these four world-class environmental charities – aims to combat the urgent threat of climate change by inspiring action by individuals, businesses and governments worldwide,” it said in a report.

The global financial institution said that its efforts could counter climate change for people, forests, water and cities.

Along with the four international institutions and its 330,000 staff members, the HSBC program hopes to create cleaner, greener cities in Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York and Shanghai, as models for the world.

The program hopes to create ‘climate champions’ worldwide, who will undertake research and bring back valuable knowledge and experience to their communities. It likewise will conduct the largest field experiment on the long-term effects of climate change and how it will affect the world’s forests.

Finally, the program could protect some of the world’s major rivers and the livelihoods of people who rely on these rivers.

Scientists from 100 nations agree that global warming is already changing the world, bringing increasing vulnerability of the world’s freshwater systems and leading to social and economic consequences.

“Action now may help avert potential catastrophes; doing nothing is not an option,” HSBC said.

The four-year-old Climate Group is a collaboration of business and government entities seeking solutions to climate change problems but compatible with economic growth and business development.

The Climate Group’s participation in the HSBC Climate Partnership will enhance their collaboration with other major non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on climate change.

Specific goals include 40 new Climate Group memberships, helping to galvanize the conditions in which governments in India, China, the United States and the United Kingdom can adopt greenhouse gas emissions targets, thus building its capacity in key world cities.

It will engage government and business leaders through baseline surveys on current perceptions and policies, annual round table events and forums, regular briefing papers, engage consumers through launch events, and raise awareness of environment-friendly products and services.

Earthwatch Institute gathers information, through long term research, focusing on climate change and the sustainable management of resources, oceans, communities with the help of 2,000 scientists and an unlimited ‘hands on’ workforce of volunteers.

For more than 25 years, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute has been doing research around the world on tropical forests, including how these forests respond to climate change. The institutes’ Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) coordinates research activities in tropical zones around the world.

Twenty large-scale – mostly 50 hectare (120 acre) – plots in Latin America, Africa and Asia provide forest sites where scientists measure, map and identify the trees. This census process, repeated every five years, allows scientists to collect quantifiable data on how climate change is affecting the forests and to measure factors associated with climate change, such as changes in tree lifespan or changes in species composition in the forest.

The WWF has been working with local people and international organizations to create harmony between humans and nature since 1961. While best known for their work on species conservation, they also tackle the relationship between humans and nature, encouraging sustainable development and helping communities to reduce their impact on the planet.

Within the climate change sector, they focus on:

• Emission reductions – encouraging industrialized countries to reduce their current levels of CO2 emissions;

• Business action – forming progressive partnerships with businesses and industries to identify ways to reduce their emissions and become leaders in their sector;

• Developing world – finding solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while still pursuing local development goals;

• Communities and nature – working with communities to protect and restore conservation areas and adapt to a changing climate.