Finance
Japan Bank Head Says Transition Funds Are Critical for Climate
- Takashima prefers engagement over divestment for big emitters
- Critics say Japan banks need to do more to halt climate change
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Helping big polluters transform into greener enterprises is one of the biggest challenges facing Japanese banks, and simply cutting off funding for “brown” companies could jeopardize those transition efforts, said the head of the country’s banking group.
“Discussions often lead to a rather dualistic thinking of lending money to green companies and not to brown ones,” Makoto Takashima, chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association, said in an interview. “We need to provide financial support to transition.”