- FirstRand to end coal financing immediately.
- The bank will also exit financing for coal mines over the next five years.
Africa’s largest bank by market value, FirstRand, plans to end funding for new coal-fired power stations immediately and exit financing new coal mining projects over the next five years. FirstRand follows the Nedbank Group Ltd to make this climate commitment as many investors face pressure to divest from fossil fuel projects. FirstRand has set a target of achieving net-zero by 2050.
The South African energy sector is reliant on coal for its electricity needs. As a result, the country produces equivalent carbon emissions as the U.K, which has an economy eight times its size. FirstRand, which owns retail lenders FNB and Rand Merchant Bank, expects that there will be a gradual reduction in coal production from 2025 to 2030 as Eskom decommissions five of its coal-fired power stations and global coal export demand declines.