Environmental Leader

Bank of America plans to create an environmental group headed up by Richard Cohen from the bank’s strategic interests group that will be tasked with identifying and financing “the best new ideas in the green economy,” MSN Money reports.

Speaking at the 2008 Emerging Issues Forum at North Carolina State University, BofA chief executive Kenneth Lewis also called on Congress to create a cap-and-trade system to help control carbon emissions, AP reports.

The bank plans to start assessing the cost of carbon in its risk and underwriting processes. Without federal legislation setting that cost, Lewis said BofA puts it at $20 to $40 per ton of carbon dioxide.

Last March, the bank launched a $20 billion initiative to support environmentally sustainable business activity. The company said the ten-year plan will encourage development of environmentally sustainable business practices through lending, investing, philanthropy and the creation of new products and services.

Lewis also said that the bank has already financed “everything from solar to wind to the expansion of hydro power … and even experimental technologies, such as giant buoys that capture energy generated by ocean waves,” for commercial customers, according to MSN.

Advertisers