Barclays said it was tightening lending criteria for coal power and would stop financing oil sands exploration and production, Reuters reported on February 16. But the bank did not announce new restrictions on oil and gas lending as some rivals have.

The British bank extended a previously announced plan to phase out financing for clients involved in coal-fired power generation by 2030 from the UK and European Union, to include other countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Banks globally have been detailing their plans to cut emissions and keep a lid on the rise in global temperatures, but environmental campaigners accuse them of moving too slowly and have called on them to stop financing new oil and gas drilling.

Announcing results for 2022, Barclays said it will stop financing all oil tar sands companies, as well as new oil sands pipelines, whereas previously it had said it would work with those firms undertaking efforts to reduce their emissions.

However, some environmental activists had hoped the bank would announce a new policy on financing for oil and gas, after HSBC said in December it would stop direct funding new oil and gas fields. NatWest and Lloyds have also said they will stop some direct finance for new oil and gas.

Barclays also set its first emission-cutting target for the automotive manufacturing industry, with a pledge to reduce emissions intensity between 40% and 64% by 2030 against a 2022 baseline.

For the residential real estate sector, Barclays set a convergence point of reducing emissions by 40% by 2030, which it said was not a target because decarbonising UK homes was dependent on wider changes beyond its control.

Barclays said in its annual report that it had reduced its emissions for the energy, power, steel and cement sectors in 2022.

For energy, absolute emissions generated by its energy clients have dropped 32% since 2020 - putting it well on track for its target of a 40% reduction this decade - but the bank acknowledged the decline was helped by cash-rich energy customers needing less finance.