Goldman Sachs won’t stop financing fossil fuel firms, Solomon says

Goldman Sachs Group CEO David Solomon said the Wall Street firm wouldn’t abruptly stop working with fossil fuel companies, stressing the need for a balanced transition to green energy that avoids higher energy prices.

While the bank wants to be “in business with people that are investing in their transition,” Solomon said Goldman will continue to do business with fossil fuel companies as part of that process.

p17u6all1d18ei10mp16fptdfdm7.JPG

“We have to balance good public policy with the short-term implications and that’s why it is a transition,” Solomon said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. “If we’re too aggressive in the context of how we direct capital to the private sector that can be more inflationary.”

His comments come amid a global energy crisis after weather patterns and supply-chain snarls worsened a supply deficit in fossil fuels. It has left governments worldwide scrambling to protect businesses and customers from higher prices.

Solomon, who also called for clarity on carbon pricing, was speaking on the sidelines of the U.K. government’s global investment summit at London’s Science Museum. It brings together executives from the worlds of finance, pharmaceuticals, technology and academia to discuss green funding and boost investment in Britain.

Bloomberg News
Commercial banking Climate change
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER