UK banks still committed to climate goals, Bank of England executive insists

David Bailey, the executive director of prudential policy at the Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority, said climate risks have to be balanced against other emerging dangers. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

A Bank of England executive has insisted that UK banks are still showing a “vibrant” commitment to climate goals despite the recent demise of a global net zero target-setting group.

David Bailey, the executive director of prudential policy at the Bank’s regulatory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), played down concerns surrounding the fact that significant lenders including HSBC and Barclays had followed their US peers in dropping membership of the UN-backed Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Those exits led to the closure of the once-lauded NZBA last month.