A £50 million "green taskforce" was launched today by HSBC to tackle climate change worldwide. It is the largest donation by a British company to directly address climate change, according to the banking group.
In partnership with The Climate Group, Earthwatch Institute, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and WWF, HSBC plans to provide conservation managers and policy makers with up-to-date research.
This will include the largest field experiment on the world's forests to measure carbon and the effects of climate change.
HSBC Group chairman Stephen Green said: "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."
The HSBC Climate Partnership has set out certain targets, one of which is to help protect four of the world's major rivers - the Amazon, Ganges, Thames and Yangtze - from the impact of climate change.
James Leape, director general of WWF International, said: "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."