In December ING set a new bar in the commercial banking sector for restricting finance to companies involved in coal power, setting 2025 as its target date for reducing its exposure to coal power to ‘close to zero’. Its new commitments, which cover both lending and underwriting, will have impacts on existing clients including European utility giants ENEL, RWE, ENGIE and ČEZ, which face the risk of being jettisoned by ING in the coming years if they do not take steps to become coal free by 2025. BankTrack has regularly engaged with ING, helping to keep ambitious coal finance restrictions high on the bank’s agenda. However the new policy advance comes with gaps that will need to be plugged if its approach to coal is to be truly ‘Paris compliant’.