Barclays Coal Plan Exposes Reach of Biden’s Climate Plan

The Inflation Reduction Act is starting to change the way bankers view their climate targets.

Barclays Plc, one of Europe’s biggest coal financiers, said its analysis of the IRA has led it to commit to wind down its funding for coal in the US five years earlier than planned. Chief Executive Officer C.S. Venkatakrishnan told shareholders recently that the bank now expects to phase out its financing of thermal coal power in the US by 2030.

It’s a move that may well spread across more of the finance industry as executives digest the full effect of the IRA, according to sustainable investing veterans. The bill makes ...