Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, the biggest commercial bank in Japan and the fifth-largest in the world, is reportedly considering a ban on lending to new coal-fired power stations.
If the move is confirmed, it will add weight to a growing -- and very welcome -- policy shift among Asian lenders. Not before time, the region's banks are recognizing the global threat from climate change and pulling back from the world's most carbon-intensive energy source. But there must be no backsliding or loopholes for specific projects under a no-coal approach.