Last checked at 
* Follows investor push for it to cut fossil fuel lending
* Bank says will provide targets, report on them regularly
* Investor response mixed to 'ambition' not 'commitment'
(Adds investor reaction, bullet points)
By Simon Jessop and Iain Withers
LONDON, March 30 (Reuters) - Barclays drew cautious
investor support on Monday for setting itself an ambition to
reach 'net zero' for its own carbon emissions and the activities
it finances by 2050.
Investors, politicians and activists are increasingly
turning their focus to the role of the banking system in helping
accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.
"We wanted to see leadership from Barclays on this critical
issue and their proposed ambition is a significant first step,"
said Diandra Soobiah, Head of Responsible Investment at NEST.
A group of investors plans to file a resolution at the
British bank's AGM calling on it to phase out lending to the
fossil fuel sector, a move which has prompted Barclays to come
up with its own resolution.
The bank said this would commit it to aligning its financing
activities with the goals and timelines of the Paris Agreement
on climate and provide targets to judge its progress and report
on them regularly, starting in 2021.
Barclays said it would also continue to engage with
ShareAction and other investors behind the resolution as it
develops the strategy and expected them to back its move.
It did not comment on whether it recommended backing
ShareAction's resolution.
Voting for both would "cement the bank’s new high-level
climate commitment while at the same time insisting on the
near-term ambition needed to deliver the results everyone
wants," Wolfgang Kuhn, ShareAction's Director of Finance
Sector Strategies, said.
"A climate strategy cannot be considered complete without
recognising that transition necessarily means phase-out when it
comes to fossil fuels, particularly the highest carbon fuels
where Barclays has significant exposure," he added.
NEST, which manages UK corporate pension scheme money, said
it would also support both resolutions.
"It’s important that more details follow quickly on how
Barclays will deliver these ambitious climate targets,
particularly their pledge to reach net zero carbon emissions by
2050," NEST's Soobiah said.
However, Lankelly Chase, which co-filed the ShareAction
resolution, said by proposing an ambition of becoming net zero
rather than committing to it, Barclays was "asking permission to
fall short of its own obligations".
(Reporting by Iain Withers, editing by Huw Jones and Alexander
Smith)
