ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Early day motion 880, tabled 25 February 2009 by Martin Horwood (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 107 members.

That this House notes that one of the most significant outcomes of the recent financial crisis has been the Government's acquisition of a majority stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS); further notes that RBS has been identified by campaign groups People and Planet and Platform as the UK bank that is the most heavily involved in financing the expansion of fossil fuel projects around the world, and that the carbon dioxide emissions embedded in RBS's project finance in 2006 were calculated to be greater than the carbon dioxide emissions of Scotland itself; believes that the fact that banks play such a large role in providing finance to projects that are exacerbating climate change has been wholly unaddressed in Government policy; further believes that there is an urgent need for the Government's new banking regulations to include environmental concerns as well as financial concerns; calls on the Government to use its majority share in RBS to prioritise climate change as a principal concern in RBS's lending decisions; further calls on the Government to require RBS to calculate, publish and cap embedded emissions resulting from its lending to fossil fuel projects, and to set annual targets for reducing these emissions; and further calls on the Government to promote RBS investments in renewable energy, new green jobs and the infrastructure needed to decarbonise the economy.

Signatures by party: Labour 51, Liberal Democrat 48, Independent 2, Conservative 1, Independent Labour 1, Plaid Cymru 1, Respect 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1, UUP 1.