FirstRand Ltd. , Africa’s biggest bank by market value, is ending its funding of new coal-fired power stations immediately and will halt the financing of new projects to mine the fuel over the next five years. The Johannesburg-based lender joins its peer Nedbank Group Ltd. in making such commitments as pressure mounts on banks to shun fossil-fuel lending from investors and activists. While South Africa’s largest banks are reducing their exposure to activities that pollute the environment, they have set differing time-lines to take into account the nation’s reliance on coal. “It is the long-term ambition of FirstRand to be net zero by 2050,” it said in its updated policy published on Wednesday. The bank will also reduce its short- and medium-term limits on its overall coal exposure, it said. South Africa relies on coal for almost all of its electricity and exports the fuel to countries including China […]