Bank of America announced that it will adopt The Carbon Principles created by J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley to tighten the financing guidelines for coal-fired power plants.
The announcement came on the same day that the bank’s CEO Kenneth Lewis was awarded the 2008 Fossil Fool
of the year award by environmentalists and online voters who opposed
the banks funding of destructive mountain-top removal coal mining and
the power plants that burn the coal.
Lewis did not respond to the award, but touted the importance of
the Carbon Principles, which might be a sign that the company is
beginning to change its business practices in regards to the coal
industry, which is currently destroying vast swaths of the Appalachian
mountains and poisoning ground water with toxic coal slurry.
"The Carbon Principles are critical as we work to secure a more
sustainable energy future," said Lewis. "It is my hope that these
principles, when combined with Bank of America’s commitment to assess
the cost of carbon in our risk and underwriting process, will enable us
to better evaluate the business models of utility sector companies and,
ultimately, help them move to cleaner technologies."
Last year Bank of America launched a $20 billion initiative
to support environmentally sustainable business activity. Yet, one can
argue that its support of the coal industry stands in direct opposition
to that initiative.
The Boston Herald reported that protestors of the bank’s actions in the
coal industry chained themselves to the doors of a branch in Boston’s
Copley Square yesterday.
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