"Standard Chartered tries to have it both ways on coal", 21 January 2019

...Investing in coal plants...now runs the risk of harming a financial institution's reputation.

...[N]umerous institutions have taken the step of publicly ruling out further investment in coal. However, some of the policies have the whiff of greenwash....

...Standard Chartered's chairman José Viñals was unequivocal, releasing a public statement titled "Here for good means saying no to coal," in which he said all the right things about the dangers of coal and climate change.

...What he failed to mention was that Standard Chartered remains involved in banking syndicates for at least two proposed coal-fired power plants: the 1,200-megawatt Vung Ang 2 and 1,980MW Vinh Tan 3, both in Vietnam.

The bank's involvement in other proposed coal plants, such as the 2,000MW Jawa-9&10 (Banten Suralaya) in Indonesia, remains unclear and Standard Chartered refuses to clarify.

On being pressed about the rather glaring contradiction, Standard Chartered claimed the deals were too far developed for it to withdraw.

...Standard Chartered has the means and opportunity to be a genuine leader on climate and sustainability.

It should not risk considerable embarrassment by trying to get away with turning its "no to coal" into a quiet "yes."