German activists target Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan on carbon policies

By Tom Sims

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Climate activists on Wednesday targeted two of the globe’s biggest banks – Deutsche Bank (ETR:) and JPMorgan (NYSE:) – for their fossil fuel investment policies with separate protests in Germany’s financial capital, Frankfurt.

Greenpeace activists scaled Deutsche Bank’s headquarters shortly after dawn and strung up a large yellow banner to protest against the climate investment policies of the German lender and its asset management company DWS.

On Wednesday evening, a separate group of protesters from another campaign group, KoalaKollektiv, will dress as dinosaurs during the Frankfurt edition of JPMorgan’s 10 kilometre corporate run, partly to underscore the threat of climate change on plants and animals.

The protests highlight the ongoing tension between climate activists and financial firms. Many campaigners call for an immediate stop to funding and investment in fossil fuel industries, while banks advocate a more gradual approach.

The Greenpeace action came a day ahead of the annual shareholder meeting of DWS, which is mostly owned by Deutsche Bank and has drawn attention from activists and regulators over allegations that it misled investors about “green” investments. DWS has disputed the allegations.

Deutsche Bank said that sustainability and climate protection were “strategic priorities”, and that it supports DWS in the development of its sustainability policies and standards.

The German-language Greenpeace banner was unfurled shortly after 6 a.m. CEST (0400 GMT) and stretched across part of the glass facade on the lower section of Deutsche Bank’s twin office towers. The banner translated as “Force DWS, protect the climate”.

The event drew a half dozen police vehicles, but an officer said there would be no arrests.

Last year, the chief executive of DWS stepped down after raids by prosecutors over the allegations of so-called “greenwashing”.

The new CEO, Stefan Hoops, plans to tell shareholders at Thursday’s meeting that DWS has been cooperating with investigations, according to a transcript of prepared remarks on its website. The company also continues to stand by its financial disclosures and its fund prospectuses, Hoops will add.

Mauricio Vargas, a Greenpeace finance expert who was standing outside Deutsche Bank’s headquarters, said: “DWS’s scandal is Deutsche Bank’s scandal.” He plans to address shareholders on Thursday.

DWS said in a statement that it agreed with Greenpeace that climate change requires decisive action but disagreed on “how to get there”. It said it had recently adopted new policies on dealing with coal companies.

KoalaKollektiv called JPMorgan the “No. 1 climate killer”, ahead of the bank’s run.

Chuka Umunna, who heads environmental, social and governance issues for JPMorgan in Europe and elsewhere, said that the bank was in the vanguard for its targets and policies, and had turned down business as it seeks to reduce its carbon intensity.

“We’re proud of what we’ve done. We want to do more. We don’t pretend to be saints,” he told journalists in Frankfurt.