Tokyo-based banking and financial services company Mizuho announced a series of climate-focused initiatives, including introducing a new framework aimed at more actively supporting green projects for clients in high-risk areas in carbon-related sectors, and expanding its interim financed emissions reduction targets to the automotive and maritime transport sectors.

The new green project framework, forming part of Mizuho’s response policy for high-risk areas, follows the introduction early this year of a new transition support framework aimed at helping the company more proactively supply financing to support clients’ business structure transformation.

While the initial framework focused on enabling support for clients by verifying that their transition strategies met Mizuho’s credibility and transparency criteria, the update expands the framework to allow for more active support for projects that can be confirmed as “green projects.” Confirmation criteria to assess green projects include elements recommended through the Loan Market Association’s Green Loan Principles, and include use of loan proceeds, having a process to determine the eligibility of environmental targets and projects, management and tracking of loan proceeds, reporting and transparence, and the client’s policy for addressing transition risks.

Mizuho’s new financed emissions goals include targets to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions from the automotive sector by 38% by 2030 on a 2021 basis, and Scope 3 “use of sold products” emissions from the sector by 31% – 43%, and to achieve a climate alignment score of 0% or less, with the whole portfolio aligned with a decarbonization trajectory by 2030 for the maritime transport sector, focused on vessel operation, which accounts for the significant majority of the sector’s emissions footprint.

The firm has already set interim financed emissions reduction targets for the power, oil and gas, and thermal coal sectors. Mizuho stated that it also aims to set targets for the steel and real estate sectors this year, to be disclosed in early 2024.