Belfius is reneging on climate goals.

At the beginning of this year, Belfius made the decision to withdraw from the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), an environmental certification process, as reported by Le Soir on Monday. This initiative serves as a global reference for companies seeking to align themselves with the climate goals established at the Paris summit in 2015.

In its 2021 annual report, the bank, which is wholly owned by the federal government, noted that it had joined the SBTi with the intention of establishing emissions reduction targets in accordance with the Paris agreement on climate. The 2022 annual report reiterated this commitment. However, Belfius has now concluded its involvement with the SBTi and is instead looking to develop its own method for limiting CO₂ emissions. The bank’s management is emphasizing the importance of supporting a just transition and paying particular attention to social impact in this new approach.