SC Group to Invest $300 Billion in Green and Transition Finance... "Service Suspension if Coal Dependence is High"

If Dependence on Coal Sales for Power Generation Exceeds 5%, Suspension Enforced
'Transition Acceleration Team' Established for Low-Carbon Shift Goals
Incentives for Rapid Reduction... Comprehensive Corporate Finance Loans Also Available

Bill Winters, Chairman of SC Group. Photo by SC Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] SC Group will invest $300 billion in green and transition finance by 2030 to promote corporate clients' carbon neutrality efforts. The group has introduced bold policies such as cutting off financial services to companies with high coal dependency and providing incentives for loans to those accelerating low-carbon transitions. As global financial firms prioritize carbon neutrality within their asset portfolios, the pace of carbon neutrality across international industries is expected to accelerate.

According to the financial sector on the 1st, SC Group recently announced its interim carbon neutrality targets and implementation plans. This aims to reduce the carbon intensity (greenhouse gas emissions) of major industries by 30% to up to 85% by 2030, the midpoint toward achieving carbon neutrality in its asset portfolio by 2050.

Financial services will be discontinued for client companies with more than 5% revenue dependence on coal for power generation. SC Group currently prohibits financial support for the establishment or expansion of coal power plants.

SC Group estimates the total carbon emissions of its corporate clients at 45.2 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent (M/T). This is related to 77% of the clients' book risk exposure amounting to $97.3 billion.

Among the 59 markets where SC Group operates, only 26 have committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Developing countries mainly rely on carbon-intensive industries for sustained economic growth. Therefore, SC Group plans to provide differentiated financial support to smoothly implement climate goals while not missing opportunities for growth and prosperity.

SC Group will also establish a Transition Acceleration Team. This team will provide expertise and frameworks to measure progress for corporate clients with high carbon intensity to accelerate their low-carbon transition.

A comprehensive corporate finance loan product offering incentives will be launched for companies advancing their low-carbon transition faster than the decarbonization rate of their respective countries. In major markets, sustainable retail financial products such as green mortgage loans will also be introduced.

For the Wealth Management (WM) business, SC Group aims to double the scale of sustainable investment assets under management by 2025. It has set a goal to include ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) considerations in its investment advisory activities.

Bill Winters, Chairman of SC Group, emphasized, “In accordance with the Paris Agreement, we plan to establish and implement a science-based reduction plan to achieve carbon neutrality in our asset portfolio by 2050. We will remove financial barriers hindering the transition to carbon neutrality through the expansion of green and transition finance.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.