Union-Backed Bank Will Start Tracking Carbon in Loans

American Banker
Friday, October 26, 2018

Amalgamated Bank will begin tracking the carbon emissions it is financing through its $3.4 billion loan portfolio, using as a guide the science that would limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, which is the goal of the Paris accord. Amalgamated, whose largest shareholder is the Workers United union, will also start measuring the carbon profile of new potential debt issues, as a way to evaluate borrowers' exposure to potential future carbon constraints. Amalgamated plans to work with the Global Alliance for Banking on Values to develop a carbon-accounting system similar to one used by some European banks.