Everything you need to participate in the extended SBTi finance public consultation

The financial sector has huge potential to drive decarbonization in the real economy and unlock the system-wide change needed to reach net-zero emissions.

To support this, the SBTi is developing new resources that give financial institutions (FIs) clear guidance, criteria and recommendations required to set science-based near- and long-term targets consistent with net-zero and limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

We have collected many responses across all three consultation topics, and also received multiple requests to extend the deadline. We are therefore extending the survey to August 23 at 12:00 BST. You can participate in the consultation here.

The documents are:

• NET-ZERO CONSULTATION DRAFT: SBTi Financial Institutions Net-Zero (FINZ) Standard Conceptual Framework and Initial Criteria for Financial Institutions
• NEAR-TERM CONSULTATION DRAFTS: SBTi Near-Term Financial Sector Science Based Targets Guidance V2 and the Near-Term Criteria and Recommendations for Financial Institutions Version V2
• FOSSIL FUEL CONSULTATION DRAFT: SBTi Fossil Fuel Finance Position Paper

The SBTi’s Financial Sector Science-Based Targets Guidance already allows FIs – including banks, investors, insurance companies, pension funds and others – to set near-term science-based targets to align their lending and investment activities with the Paris Climate Agreement.

The SBTi is also working on new and updated resources to help FIs achieve operational and investment-associated net-zero no later than 2050.

As part of the development process, the SBTi kicked off a public consultation on June 15 covering three new and updated resources for FIs. During the public consultation, we released a host of events and deep-dive videos to help stakeholders better understand the consultation drafts and survey.

Missed our events?

You can find recordings of our events and deep-dive videos on our YouTube channel:

1. Public Consultation Kickoff Webinar: This event provided a high-level overview of the three draft resources released for public consultation, followed by a brief Q&A.
2. Fossil Fuel Finance Position Paper Draft deep-dive webinar: Nate Aden, SBTi's Finance Lead, and Behrouz Nouri, SBTi's Energy Sector Manager, provided an overview of the SBTi’s draft fossil fuel finance criteria and corresponding stakeholder survey questions with time for questions and discussion.
3. Near-Term Guidance Version 2 Draft deep-dive recording: Howard Shih, Senior Technical Manager of the SBTi's FI team, provided an overview of each of the consultation survey questions for the near-term guidance draft.
4. Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard Draft deep-dive recording: Eoin White, Senior Technical Manager of the SBTi's FI team, provided a deep-dive of the FINZ Standard draft.
5. Q&A session 1 and session 2: Members of the SBTi’s FI team answer questioned about the consultation drafts, survey and more in both Q&A sessions.

Still have questions?

We’ve compiled a list of FAQs to further explain the purpose, scope and content of the public consultation.

Through this consultation, the SBTi is seeking input from a diverse group of stakeholders. Your feedback will inform the development of resources that are both ambitious and practical.