BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse sign up to the Poseidon Principles with Chinese banks tipped to join soon

BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse have signed up to the Poseidon Principles, bringing the total number of financial institutions aligned to the green lending principles to 16. Moreover, one of the architects of the principles has suggested a host of Asian finance houses will join the initiative soon.

The Poseidon Principles are the world’s first sector-specific, self-governing climate alignment agreement amongst financial institutions. They establish a common framework to quantitatively assess and disclose whether financial institutions’ lending portfolios are in line with climate goals set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The principles are designed to support shipowners in achieving the ‘at least 50% by 2050’ greenhouse gas reduction target set by the IMO.

Speaking at Marine Money’s London conference yesterday, Michael Parker, chairman of global shipping logistics and offshore at Citi and chair of the Poseidon Principles Association, said he was hopeful Asian financial institutions, led by Chinese lessors, would come onboard the initiative soon. Chinese lessors as well as banks in Japan and Singapore have been contacted to join the association, Parker said.

Green regulation is the greatest opportunity for shipping to be consistently profitable, Parker claimed yesterday.