Coal news and updates

E.SUN FHC Commits to Phase-out of Coal By 2035

TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--E.SUN FHC, taking the initiative to follow the international trend and achieve the goals of COP26, announced coal phase-out by 2035 on April 11. This policy applies to all E.SUN FHC subsidiaries and overseas locations and encompasses actively managing carbon emissions from financial assets, increasing green assets, reducing gray assets in investment and financing, and promoting social energy transformation and global climate goals through the allocation of financial resources.

E.SUN FHC addresses companies with more than 5% of their revenue from business activities in coal and unconventional oil & gas — the former includes coal-fired power, coal mining and infrastructure, coal trading, and coal transport; the latter includes tar sands, shale oil & gas, Arctic oil & gas, ultra-deep-water oil & gas, and liquefied natural gas from unconventional fossil fuels. Excluding the funds earmarked to assist these companies in carbon reduction, E.SUN FHC will have no exposure including investing and financing to coal and unconventional oil & gas industries by the end of 2035. Bonds sold to customers that involve companies related to coal and unconventional oil & gas will all be labeled by the end of 2030 and will cease to be sold by the end of 2035.

In a statement of Magi Chen (陳美滿), President and Chief Sustainability Officer of E.SUN FHC, the Company stopped financing coal-fired power plant projects in 2019 and is further committed to phase-out of coal and unconventional oil & gas industries. This is a significant milestone for the Company on the road to net zero. The Company hopes to leverage the influence of the financial sector to assist the global energy system with coal phase-out. E.SUN FHC obtained approved target notice from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) this February, and is the first financial institution in Taiwan and the second in Asia to complete the SBTi target review. To achieve the SBTi targets, E.SUN FHC has not only gradually changed the policies and procedures of its investment and financing business, but also provides consulting services for companies it has dealing with on shift to sustainable development and carbon reduction. E.SUN FHC encourages companies to conduct carbon inventories and set carbon reduction targets. Companies that apply for sustainability linked loans and achieve their carbon reduction targets can also enjoy preferential loan rates.