'Increasingly uncompetitive': BNP Paribas AM tightens coal investment policy

'Reduce the economic risk'

The asset management arm of BNP Paribas has moved to strengthen its policies on high-carbon investments, today announcing tighter exclusions on companies engaged in coal mining and power generation.

The French banking giant, which manages €399bn of assets, said coal combustion was the single largest source of global warming and must be curbed to keep the Paris Agreement on track. It also stressed that coal is becoming "increasingly uncompetitive" in the face of less carbon-intensive fuel sources such as renewables. Reducing its role in BNP Paribas' portfolios will therefore "reduce the economic risk," it said. Under the new policy, which will come into force next year, BNP Paribas AM said it will exclude companies from its investments that derive more than 10 per cent of their re...