And we’re the well-funded ones?

Banking firm HSBC is to give $100 million to various environmental groups to “respond to global warming.” According to the HSBC press release, much of the money is to expand the size and influence of the environmental organizations:

HSBC’s US$100 million partnership – including the largest donations to each of these charities and the largest donation ever made by a British company – has significant programme targets and offers transformational support for the environmental charities. The donation will help to deliver increased capacity, help the charities to expand across new countries and research sites, and increase their access to more people.

This is, of course, additional to the $150 million environmental groups are spending in the U.S. each year on global warming.

It might be noted that HSBC stands to benefit considerably if carbon trading becomes the $3 trillion market some have suggested it could be. The World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund), which has received $35 million in this deal, has lobbied for cap-and-trade in Europe.