‘Shame on them’: Standard Chartered CEO decries banks that drop climate pledges
The chief executive of Standard Chartered has condemned rival banks that have dropped their climate commitments amid mounting political pressure.Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Bill Winters criticised banks that had jumped on the climate bandwagon when it was “fashionable”, but had since rolled back on their green ambitions or gone quiet on the subject.“Shame on them,” he said, without naming individual firms.His comments came weeks after HSBC became the first UK-headquartered bank to leave the global Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), in a further blow to international climate coordination efforts.The UN environment programme’s finance initiative, which is led by banks, commits members to aligning their lending, investment and capital markets activities with net zero emissions by 2050 or earlier.
HSBC was one of the founding members of the NZBA, which was launched in 2021.At the time, Noel Quinn, the bank’s then chief executive, said industry-wide collaboration was “essential to monitoring progress” towards net zero.The decision to leave the initiative came months after HSBC revealed it would delay key parts of its climate goals for the next 20 years, and water down other environmental targets, as part of a long-term bonus plan for Quinn’s successor, Georges Elhedery, who took over last year.It also followed a wave of exits from the NZBA by big US banks including JP Morgan, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs during the run-up to Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.Trump’s second term has sparked a wide-ranging climate backlash from rightwing politicians, who have been emboldened by his anti-green push for higher oil and gas production.
On Thursday, Winters said: “People that said a lot of stuff, but [when] it was fashionable to say it, [and] who are saying either nothing or the opposite now: shame on them,” He said most of Standard Chartered’s clients – from across China, India, wider Asia and the Middle East – were “as focused on their net zero transitions, or their transitions to low carbon economy, as they were before,And that obviously is good for business,”“A lot of these projects just make sense economically,” Winters added,“Most continue to honour the obligations that they made to their shareholders or other stakeholders early on, independent of political noise one way or the other.
”Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionDuring HSBC’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, Elhedery said the decision to drop its NZBA membership was “not cost related”.He added that HSBC remained “fully committed in our ambition to become a net-zero bank by 2050” and was undertaking a review of interim targets for 2030, which would conclude in the second half of this year.
UK government has ‘got the balance right’ on tax, says Rachel Reeves
The government has “got the balance right” on tax, Rachel Reeves has insisted after a former Labour shadow chancellor said she should consider introducing a wealth tax.The chancellor said she had already increased taxes on the wealthiest in society with higher levies “on private jets, on second homes, and increased capital gains tax”.Speaking to reporters in Scotland, Reeves said: “In the budget last year, we got rid of the non-domicile status in our tax system, so people who make Britain their home have to pay their taxes here.“I think we’ve got the balance right in terms of how we tax those with the broadest shoulders, but any further decisions will be ones that are made at a budget in the normal way.”Reeves was speaking after Anneliese Dodds, who resigned as a Foreign Office minister earlier this year over aid cuts, said ministers should “look carefully” at proposals for a one-off levy on millionaire households
From silence to statehood: how Trump’s indifference moved the UK on Palestine
It was, in the end, an off-the-cuff remark from Donald Trump that moved the dial.“I’m not going to take a position,” the US president said when asked in Scotland about pressure on Keir Starmer to recognise a Palestinian state. “I don’t mind him taking a position. I’m looking for getting people [in Gaza] fed right now.”Within 36 hours, after an emergency meeting of his cabinet, the prime minister had set out a plan to revive fading hopes of a two-state solution – and recognise Palestine by the end of September
Family of Briton murdered in Jamaica seek answers over UK officials’ ‘indifference’
The family of a “generous and loving” British man who was murdered in Jamaica are demanding answers over the British government’s “indifferent” response after the tragedy.Delroy Walker, from Birmingham, was stabbed to death weeks after retiring to the Caribbean island where he was building his dream home. The 63-year-old charity worker was murdered by a “jealous” tradesman he employed to help decorate the property in preparation for a family visit in summer 2018.Dwayne Barton, 32, was jailed for 27 years and his accomplice, Davian Edwards, 33, for 22 years this week after being found guilty of murder in a trial at St Mary circuit court in Jamaica.Walker, who was born on the island, was 11 years old when he moved to Britain with his parents who were part of the Windrush generation
Labour urged to revive Sure Start label to win back Reform voters
The government should greatly expand family centres under the Sure Start brand to help win back Reform voters in former Labour heartlands, a commission backed by Labour politicians has said.Hilary Armstrong, the Labour peer and former cabinet minister, was among those pressing for a fuller reintroduction of family centres under the Sure Start label, saying it would help to rebuild trust in neighbourhoods damaged by austerity.Armstrong is chair of the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods, which said its polling showed 62% of people recognised the Sure Start brand, and that 76% would like to see it revived.Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, announced last month that one-stop-shop family hubs similar to Sure Start would be introduced throughout England to give parents advice and support.The £500m project will open up to 1,000 centres from April 2026, meaning every council in England will have a family hub by 2028
Far-right extremists using games platforms to radicalise teenagers, report warns
Far-right extremists are using livestream gaming platforms to target and radicalise teenage players, a report has warned.The new research, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, reveals how a range of extremist groups and individuals use platforms that allow users to chat and livestream while playing video games to recruit and radicalise vulnerable users, mainly young males.UK crime and counter-terror agencies have urged parents to be especially alert to online offenders targeting youngsters during the summer holidays.In an unprecedented move, last week Counter Terrorism Policing, MI5 and the National Crime Agency issued a joint warning to parents and carers that online offenders “will exploit the school holidays to engage in criminal acts with young people when they know less support is readily available”.Dr William Allchorn, a senior research fellow at Anglia Ruskin University’s international policing and public protection research institute, who carried out the study with his colleague Dr Elisa Orofino, said “gaming-adjacent” platforms were being used as “digital playgrounds” for extremist activity
Corbyn’s new party and the menace of populism | Letters
The upcoming launch of a new party by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana (Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana agree to launch leftwing party, 24 July) will inevitably prompt questions about whether this will divide the progressive vote or offer a genuine alternative to Labour’s centrist drift, especially as the Green party continues to grow as a principled voice for environmental and social justice. Although these projects are potential rivals, they need not be.If the disturbing rise of rightwing populism is to be successfully confronted, the left must overcome fragmentation and find ways to coexist and collaborate. The Corbyn-Sultana initiative and the Greens share much common ground: a rejection of austerity, commitment to democratic reform and a belief in economic and ecological justice. Their differences in emphasis, tone and priorities are real but not irreconcilable
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