HSBC announces US$100 million programme to combat climate change worldwide

http://www.hsbc.com/hsbc/news_room/news

HSBC announces US$100 million programme to combat climate change
worldwide

30 May 2007

New environmental coalition will tackle climate change impacts for
people, forests, water and cities

HSBC has created a five-year, US$100 million partnership to respond to
the urgent threat of climate change worldwide with the support of The
Climate Group, Earthwatch Institute, Smithsonian Tropical Research
Institute (STRI) and WWF.

The HSBC Climate Partnership will:
• help some of the world's great cities – Hong Kong, London, Mumbai,
New York and Shanghai- respond to the challenge of climate change;
• create 'climate champions' worldwide who will undertake field
research and bring back valuable knowledge and experience to their
communities;
• conduct the largest ever field experiment on the world's forests to
measure carbon and the effects of climate change; and
• help protect some of the world's major rivers- including the
Amazon, Ganges, Thames, and Yangtze- from the impacts of climate
change, benefiting the 450 million people who rely on them.

Speaking at the London news conference to launch the programme, Sir
David Attenborough, one of the world's best known broadcasters and a
pioneer of the nature documentary, said, "As we increase the production
of greenhouse gases, we face the very real prospect of causing
irreversible damage to the Earth's more fragile eco-systems. We are not
powerless if we act now, collectively and decisively. We can
significantly reduce the causes of climate change and greatly improve
the chances of safeguarding for future generations the spectacular
diversity of life on Earth."

HSBC Group Chairman Stephen Green said, "The HSBC Climate Partnership
will achieve something profoundly important. By working with four of
the world's most respected environmental organisations and creating a
'green taskforce' of thousands of HSBC employees worldwide, we believe
we can tackle the causes and impacts of climate change. Over the next
five years HSBC will make responding to climate change central to our
business operations and at the heart of the way we work with our
clients across the world."


HSBC's US$100 million partnership- including the largest donations to
each of these charities and the largest donation ever made by a British
company- has significant programme targets and offers transformational
support for the environmental charities. The donation will help to
deliver increased capacity, help the charities to expand across new
countries and research sites, and increase their access to more people.

Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group said, "Climate change is an
increasingly urban issue. High summer temperatures, storms and rising
sea levels will have more extreme impacts on city life. We have a short
period of time left to take action. Many of the solutions lie in
cities- concentrations of capital, decision makers, opinion formers
and population. Through the HSBC Climate Partnership we will accelerate
our programme in five world cities, engaging the most influential
businesses and city governments to lead a 'coalition of the willing'
against global warming."

Nigel Winser, Executive Director of Earthwatch (Europe) said, "People
need positive solutions to help them tackle climate change rather than
messages of doom and gloom. Earthwatch is committed to inspiring
action, not apathy. We will do this by involving HSBC's global
workforce in online education and climate change research in forests
worldwide to leave a powerful legacy."

Dr Ira Rubinoff, Director of STRI and Acting Under Secretary,
Smithsonian Institution said, "The Smithsonian has studied tropical
forests in Panama for nearly one hundred years. We are setting up a
network of new Global Earth Observatories, based on the longest-running
standardised forest monitoring programme, covering all the major
tropical rainforest areas of the world. HSBC's donation will enable the
Smithsonian to deliver key scientific data in the hands of decision
makers responsible for global carbon policy and water management."

James Leape, Director General of WWF International said, "WWF is
pleased to be continuing its collaboration with HSBC. Climate change,
poor management and waste mean that water supplies around the world are
more and more stressed. The HSBC Climate Partnership will help WWF work
towards better management of global water supplies, improve water
security for about 450 million people, and reduce the impact of climate
change on some of the world's most important rivers, including the
Amazon, Ganges, Thames and Yangtze."

The HSBC Climate Partnership builds upon 'Investing in Nature', the
Group's previous US$50 million, five-year eco-partnership which
concluded in 2006. The programme saw the Group partner with Botanical
Gardens Conservation International, Earthwatch, and WWF, saving more
than 12,000 plant species from extinction, training 200 scientists,
sending 2,000 HSBC employees on conservation research projects
worldwide, and protecting and better managing three of the world's
largest rivers- including part of the Yangtze River in China-
benefiting some 50 million people.

Media queries, including interview requests:

HSBC
Nhan Chiem
Tel: +44 (0)20 7991 0639
Mob: +44 (0)776 700 8279
nhanchiem@hsbc.com

Hill & Knowlton
Stephanie Bailey
Tel: +44 (0)20 7413 3717
Mob: +44 (0)794 727 7115
sbailey@hillandknowlton.com

The Climate Group
Alison Lucas
Tel: +44 (0)20 7960 2970
Mob: +44 (0)778 654 6724
alucas@theclimategroup.org

Earthwatch Institute
Zoe Gamble
Tel: + 44 (0)186 5318 8520
Mob: + 44 (0)772 569 0469
zgamble@earthwatch.org.uk

STRI
Beth King
Tel: +1 (0)507 212 8216
Mob: +1 (0)507 6673 8514
kingb@si.edu

WWF
Alex Hartridge
Tel: +44 (0)14 8341 2347
Mob: +44 (0)788 752 0560
ahartridge@wwf.org.uk

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HSBC Holdings plc
The HSBC Group is one of the largest banking and financial services
organisations in the world. The Group has around 10,000 offices in 82
countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the
Americas, the Middle East and Africa, serves over 125 million customers
and has assets of US$1,861 billion as 31 December 2006. HSBC was the
first major bank – and the first FTSE 100 company – to become carbon
neutral. It was also recognised as 'Sustainable Bank of the Year 2006'
by the Financial Times.

The Climate Group –www.theclimategroup.org
The Climate Group is an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated
to advancing business and government leadership on climate change. We
are based in the UK, the USA and Australia with offices opening in
China and India this year. Founded in 2004 by a diverse group of
companies, governments and supporters, The Climate Group works to
accelerate international action on global warming with a new, strong
focus on practical solutions and sharing expertise on how business and
government can lead the way towards a low carbon economy while boosting
profitability and competitiveness.

Earthwatch Institute –www.earthwatch.org
Earthwatch Institute is an international environmental organisation
whose mission is to engage people worldwide in scientific field
research and education to promote the understanding and action
necessary for a sustainable environment. Earthwatch Institute was
founded in Boston in 1971. Affiliate offices are based in UK, Australia
and Japan. There are 130 Earthwatch projects in 50 countries which
focus upon sustainable resource management, climate change, oceans and
cultures.

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute –www.stri.org
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, a unit of the Smithsonian
Institution headquartered in Panama City, Panama, furthers our
understanding of tropical nature and its importance to human welfare,
trains students to conduct research in the tropics and promotes
conservation by increasing public awareness of the beauty and
importance of tropical ecosystems.

WWF –www.wwf.org.uk
WWF protects endangered species and habitats, and addresses global
threats to people and nature such as climate change and the
unsustainable consumption of natural resources. WWF works in
partnership with governments, business and communities in more than 90
countries to influence attitudes and behaviour. WWF creates long-term
solutions to the planet's environmental problems.