Topline
An HSBC senior executive who was suspended after he publicly downplayed climate change and said the risk it poses to the market had been greatly exaggerated announced Thursday he resigned from his position, blaming “cancel culture” for making his role at the bank unsustainable.
The HSBC building is seen at Canary Wharf March 1, 2004 in London, England.
Key Facts
Stuart Kirk, HSBC Asset Management’s former head of responsible investment, came under fire in May and was suspended after saying investors should “not worry about climate risk” and its effect on financial markets, adding that throughout his career “there’s always some nut job telling me about the end of the world.”
On Thursday, Kirk announced on LinkedIn he had stepped down from his position over his treatment since making the comments, blaming “cancel culture” and writing that “there is no place for virtue signaling in finance.”
If companies believe in fostering diversity and an environment where speaking up is encouraged, they “need to walk the talk,” Kirk wrote, adding “cancel culture destroys wealth and progress.”
Kirk said he is gathering a group of “like-minded individuals” with plans to announce “what is arguably the greatest sustainable investment idea ever conceived” later this year, and will continue to challenge “nonsense, hypocrisy, sloppy logic and group-think” in finance.
Crucial Quote
“Who cares if Miami is 6 meters underwater in 100 years?” Kirk said in May, adding that “Amsterdam has been 6 meters underwater for ages, and that is a really nice place. We will cope with it.”
Tangent
If the world doesn’t curb its use of fossil fuels, the effects of climate change could slash the global annual economic output by as much as as $23 trillion by 2050, according to a 2021 report published by Swiss Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurers.
Key Background
During the Moral Money Summit event held by the Financial Times in May, Kirk compared reactions to the climate crisis to the “Y2K bug” scare, and said the effects of climate change would not be as dire as experts claim. He also criticized figures in the financial world who advocate for climate action, like the Bank of England’s former governor, Mark Carney. A slide on Kirk’s presentation claimed that “unsubstantiated, shrill, partisan, self-serving, apocalyptic warnings are ALWAYS wrong.” HSBC immediately distanced itself from Kirk’s remarks. CEO Noel Quinn wrote in a May LinkedIn post that Kirk’s views were “inconsistent” with HSBC’s strategy and that the bank aims to be the leading force in the “massive transformation that’s needed to build a better future.” Kirk did receive some support for his comments, including from U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who penned a letter to Quinn saying that the financial sector’s “out-of-mainstream environmental ideology” raises concerns about the “industry’s susceptibility to groupthink.”
Further Reading
