The world has just been handed its first set of hard data exposing the extent to which major financial firms are contributing to climate change, and how crucial their actions are in the race to slow it.
HSBC Holdings Plc and Barclays Plc revealed last week that they’re each responsible for financed emissions equivalent to roughly 18% of the total carbon footprint of the U.K. That followed a landmark set of climate disclosures from BlackRock Inc., which indicate the asset manager’s emissions at least rival those of Volkswagen AG, Europe’s biggest car manufacturer.
