LONDON (Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> said on Thursday it will not fund new coal-fired power stations or thermal coal mines, or bank new clients that derive most of their revenue from either of these operations.
The new policy brings Lloyds in line with peers Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> and HSBC <HSBA.L>, which both announced similar changes earlier this year as lenders update their approach amid growing concerns about coal's impact on the environment.
David Oldfield, group director of commercial banking at Lloyds, pointed to the landmark accord agreed between almost 200 nations at a Paris summit in 2015 to limit climate change, which was seen as marking a global turn away from fossil fuels.
"To achieve the aims set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement, continued reduction in the amount of coal mined and used to generate electricity is needed. This announcement reiterates our commitment to support the transition," he said in a statement.
(Reporting by Emma Rumney, editing by Lawrence White)
