Deutsche Bank has adopted a new fossil fuels policy to end its global business activities in coal mining by 2025.

This policy covers financing as well as capital market transactions. Previously, the bank had set itself a three-year objective of reducing its loan exposures to coal-fired power plants by 20 percent which it achieved at the end of 2019. The bank has also signed the so-called Equator Principles designed to ensure that strict environmental and social standards are applied during the project development and construction process, including follow-up monitoring.

“Our new Fossil Fuels Policy sets us a strict framework for our business activities in the oil, gas and coal sector,” said Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing, who also chairs Deutsche Bank’s Sustainability Council. He added: “In its current form, the Policy sets us ambitious targets and enables us to help our long-standing clients with their own transformation. It will allow us to play our part in protecting the climate and helping the EU to achieve its goal of being climate neutral by 2050.”

Deutsche Bank is also reinforcing its commitment to not finance any new coal-fired power plants. The bank will only offer financing to these companies in future if they present credible diversification plans. They will also no longer finance the following projects in the oil and gas sector:

• Oil and gas projects that use hydraulic fracturing in countries with scarce water supplies
• New oil and gas projects in the Arctic region
• New oil sand projects (involving exploration, production, transport or processing)