Feb. 4, 2008 - Amid shifting government policies on climate change, financial powerhouses Citibank, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley have agreed to follow new guidelines on evaluating and addressing the carbon risks in financing power projects. Called the Carbon Principles, the guidelines were created in collaboration with leading power companies and environmental nonprofits.

The banks have also agreed to follow a standard framework, called Enhanced Diligence, to decide whether to finance high-emitting power projects, such as coal plants.

"The Principles and associated Enhanced Diligence represent a first step in a process aimed at providing banks and their power industry clients with a consistent roadmap for reducing the regulatory and financial risks associated with greenhouse gas emissions," the banks said in a statement.

Read the full text of the Carbon Principles here.