South Africa's (SA) biggest banks collectively hold around $554 billion in assets, giving their lending and investment decisions significant influence over the country's transition to a lower-carbon economy.

The latest edition of How cool is your bank? finds that while the country's five largest banks have climate policies, targets and governance structures in place, there remains a gap between those commitments and evidence that financing is shifting away from high-emitting activities. The assessment found increased renewable and sustainable finance, but says fossil-fuel financing has not been meaningfully reduced. 

To unpack the findings and what they mean, we're joined by Joylyn Mutata, a Climate Finance Analyst.