Towards climate neutrality in mining and energy companies in Poland - an approach to their financing

Nowadays, fighting to stop climate change is not only possibility, it is indisputably an imperative for our future life on the Earth. The concept of climate neutrality was established at the beginning of the twenty-first century but has gained importance in the last decade. Climate neutrality can be achieved if CO2 emissions are reduced to a minimum and all remaining CO2 emissions are offset with climate protection measures. In order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C - a threshold the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change ( IPCC) suggested is safe - climate neutrality is essential by 2050. The main aim of this article is to identify activities aimed at neutralizing the impact of mining and energy companies in Poland on climate and to assess the approach of commercial banks in Poland towards financing their activities towards climate neutrality. The article verifies the research hypothesis stating that commercial banks in Poland support the financing of activities conducive to achieving climate neutrality by companies from mining and energy industries. The empirical research was carried out in three stages. It included data analysis, case study and questionnaire survey. The study shows that the mining and energy industry in Poland is aware of the need to implement quick actions to reduce their negative impact on the environment and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Moreover, it has been proven that the banking sector in Poland is open to financing socially responsible investments (SRI) supporting activities for climate neutrality.