Deutsche Bank unveiled a series of targets to reduce its financed emissions in several carbon-intensive sectors, including Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Automotive, and Steel.

Financing activities typically make up the vast majority of financial institutions’ climate impact, with financed emissions often hundreds of times greater than operational emissions. Deutsche Bank stated that it aims to reduce the amount of financed emissions, which constitute most of the bank’s Scope 3 emissions – those beyond its direct control – significantly by 2030.

According to Deutsche Bank, the new targets for the four sectors account for a significant proportion of the bank’s €250 billion loan book. The bank said that it will advise clients in carbon-intensive industries and finance their transition strategies and efforts on the path to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

The new targets include achieving a 23% reduction in Scope 3 upstream financed emissions by 2030, and 90% reduction by 2050 for the upstream Oil & Gas sector, and a 69% reduction in Scope 1 physical emission intensity by 2030 and 100% reduction by 2050 for Power Generation. For the Automotive light duty vehicles sector, Deutsche Bank is aiming for a 59% reduction in tailpipe emission intensity by 2030 and 100% reduction by 2050, and for Steel, a 33% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 physical emission intensity by 2030 and 90% reduction by 2050.

Deutsche Bank is a founding member of the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), a UN-convened coalition of banks dedicated to advancing global net zero goals through their financing activities. Members of the NZBA commit to transitioning operational and attributable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their lending and investment portfolios to align with net zero pathways by 2050, and to set 2030 targets, initially focused on priority sectors where the bank can have the most significant impact.

The bank has also committed to disclose the GHG emissions of its loan book as a member of the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), a global partnership of financial institutions, launched in 2019 with a mission to develop and implement a harmonized approach to assess and disclose the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with loans and investments.

Going forward, Deutsche Bank said that it intends to publish updates on financed emissions and pathway alignments for 2022 in March 2023, and that throughout next year, the bank will expand its net zero target setting to other carbon-intensive sectors.

Jörg Eigendorf, Chief Sustainability Officer at Deutsche Bank, said:

“This is an important step to reduce the carbon footprint of our loan book progressively. We are focusing on supporting our clients on their net zero journey. This is a crucial element of our sustainability strategy.”