Two South African banks are the biggest "climate killers" among African banks, environmental activists said on Wednesday. Standard Bank was the biggest culprit, while Nedbank, which claimed to be a carbon neutral bank, was ranked number 60, activists said on the sidelines of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 17) in Durban.
The two banks were mentioned during the release of a report showing that banks around the world had lent about R2.5 trillion to the coal industry, which is regarded as the major source of greenhouse gases.
In response, Nedbank said it was a proud conservation partner of the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF-SA)
"Together we aspire to reduce the consumption of our natural resources. Nedbank is also the first African bank to adopt the Equator Principles," the bank said in a statement. Read More
