'Who cares?' | HSBC banker's climate change thoughts are at odds with what most staff want

A HSBC banker has quit in the wake of controversial comments which appeared to downplay the risk of climate change.

The banking giant had previously suspended Stuart Kirk, Head of Responsible Investing, after he described climate change warnings as “unsubstantiated” and “shrill”.

Kirk gave a speech at a London conference entitled ‘Why Investors Need Not Worry About Climate Risk’, in which he said “who cares if Miami is six metres underwater in 100 years” and “nutjobs are always warning about the end of the world”.

HSBC was quick to distance itself from Kirk’s comments, with the bank's asset management chief Nicolas Moreau saying that Kirk's opinions “do not reflect the views of HSBC Asset Management nor HSBC Group in any way”.