At COP26, KB chief vows ‘positive strategy’ for green shift

xKB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo shared the banking group’s plans in combating climate change at an invitation-only meeting of senior officials across global sectors and governments held Wednesday at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, the firm said Nov. 11.

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At the ninth High-Level Meeting of Caring for Climate, held online and offline simultaneously, Yoon was invited on behalf of the global finance sector to speak on the topic of achieving a just, equitable and inclusive transition to a net-zero society. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan and British drugmaker AstraZeneca Chairman Leif Johansson were among those invited to speak at the meeting.

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The Seoul-based banking group chief, via videoconference, said that while eliminating high-carbon businesses from the portfolio would be an easy way to achieve net-zero through a “negative strategy,” KB Financial plans to adopt a “positive strategy” in which it would finance the industries’ shift toward low- and zero-carbon projects.

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On cooperation with the UN-convened Net-Zero Banking Alliance, Yoon highlighted the role of the global banking alliance in bringing together businesses to achieve the common goal of creating a net-zero society.

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Yoon also vowed that KB Financial would work as a leader in the Asia-Pacific to boost and encourage participation of bankers in the region to combat climate change.

KB Financial is currently South Korea’s No. 1 banking group by assets, holding 650.5 trillion won ($548.6 billion) as of end-September.