British Banks Top Europe’s List of Coal Financiers

UK banks emerge as Europe’s biggest financial backers of coal

Barclays and HSBC increased their coal financing between 2022 and 2025, a period when most European banks were cutting theirs. That divergence has made the UK the largest source of coal financing in Europe, according to a new Urgewald analysis tracking commercial banks worldwide, at $8.3 billion over the period.

Barclays’ coal-linked financing climbed to roughly $1.6 billion, a jump of more than a third from where it stood at the start of the period. HSBC’s more than doubled, ending up above $400 million. Taken together, coal financing from UK banks increased by nearly a fifth, a trend Urgewald’s director, Heffa Schücking, said the two banks need to explain given their public net-zero commitments.

Even so, the UK isn’t the main driver globally. Chinese banks account for well over half of all coal financing tracked, with US banks a distant second.

HSBC said it remains on track to phase out thermal coal financing in the EU and OECD by 2030, citing a 94% drop in financed emissions from thermal coal mining since 2020. Barclays said its policies exclude companies that get more than 30% of revenue from thermal coal, and that it has facilitated over $300 billion in sustainable and transition finance over the past three years.

India greenlights nearly $20 billion push to modernise its power grid

Grid capacity has become the bottleneck in India’s clean energy expansion. The country keeps adding solar and wind power faster than it can move that electricity to where it’s needed. On Wednesday, the government moved to close that gap, with the cabinet signing off on a $19.42 billion package focused on transmission and storage.

Most of the money, equivalent to about $14.2 billion, will fund upgrades to intra-state transmission systems, unlocking the capacity to move up to 135 gigawatts of clean power across the grid. A further $5.2 billion will go toward incentives for battery storage, specifically 50 gigawatt-hours worth, addressing a separate problem: India’s grid currently has little ability to bank surplus solar power generated during the day for use after dark.

The announcement, detailed by the country’s information minister, builds toward India’s stated goal of hitting 500 gigawatts of non-fossil fuel power capacity by 2030. The country is currently at 304 gigawatts.

Starbucks shareholders want labour oversight committee brought back

A group of Starbucks shareholders is calling on the company to bring back a board committee that once oversaw labour relations, arguing its absence has left a governance gap nearly five years after workers at the first store voted to unionise. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander filed the proposal, following similar filings from the New York State Comptroller and Trillium Asset Management. Together, the filers hold close to $270 million in Starbucks stock.

Starbucks created the committee in 2023 after an earlier shareholder vote pushed the company to audit its handling of union organising. The board dissolved it in November 2025, not long after Brian Niccol took over as CEO and combined the chair and CEO roles. Starbucks says labour oversight now sits with the full board and that eliminating the committee simplified its structure.

Starbucks Workers United supported the proposal, arguing unresolved labour tensions could be complicating Niccol’s turnaround efforts. The union still has no ratified contract and represents about 5% of U.S. stores. Starbucks typically holds its annual shareholder meeting in March, when the proposal would come up for a vote.

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Volkswagen’s wage deal cancellation sets up clash with Germany’s top union

Volkswagen has notified IG Metall that it is terminating several collective wage agreements, effective December 31, escalating an already tense standoff over the automaker’s cost-cutting plans. The union called the move a “gross foul” and vowed a forceful response, warning of a “heated confrontation” once the current strike truce runs out on January 1, opening the door to walkouts early next year. 

The 2024 labour agreement covering job guarantees at certain plants remains untouched. Groeger said management’s refusal to discuss those guarantees had frustrated the union, while works council chief Daniela Cavallo said threatened plants still have no assurances. The two sides meet again in late October.

The dispute comes as Volkswagen pursues its deepest restructuring yet, with tens of thousands of job cuts and up to four plants at risk of closure amid pressure from Chinese competitors.

Volkswagen took a similar step two years ago, which led to strikes and a deal trading 35,000 job losses for guarantees. CEO Oliver Blume won board approval for his turnaround plan this month, but the union’s response suggests the fight isn’t over.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — Cover Photo Credit: K