Wall Street’s biggest banks simultaneously pulled out of the same net-zero climate alliance that Republican lawmakers questioned last year and that was announced just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office.
As of 2021, the banking giants are prominent members of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), a global group financial institutions “committed to financing ambitious climate measures” for the transition of the economy to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
However, since December, six of the world’s largest banks, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Bank of America, have separately announced they will leave the alliance, which encourages its member banks to further “design, deploy, and achieve” science-based net-zero goals.
The banks have said they remain committed to emissions reduction targets, but will do so independently.
POTENTIAL SECOND WITHDRAWAL FROM PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT COULD LOOK DIFFERENT THAN FIRST US EXIT
The JPMorgan Chase & Co. logo. and the exterior of the building as seen in New York. (plexi images)
“We will continue to work independently to advance the interests of our company, our shareholders and our clients and will remain focused on pragmatic solutions to help further low-carbon technologies while improving energy security,” a spokesman for JP Morgan, the last bank to withdraw from the alliance , it is stated in the press release.
BlackRock, the world’s largest investment firm, also announced on Thursday that it was splitting from a major climate group, the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, which works with asset managers to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 or earlier.
The timing of the exits comes just weeks before Trump, who is expected to break away from President Biden the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and potential withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, will take over the presidency.
A Wall Street sign outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (Michael Nagle)
“The sudden exodus of these big US banks from the NZBA is a botched attempt to avoid criticism from Trump and his climate denier friends,” said Paddy McCully, senior analyst at Reclaim Finance, the Guardian reported.
“A few years ago, when climate change was at the top of the political agenda, banks were happy to boast about their commitments to act on the climate,” McCully added. “Now that the political pendulum has swung the other way, climate action suddenly doesn’t seem so important to Wall Street lenders.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The exits come nearly a year after a group of House Republicans launched the probe in six banks due to their involvement in an international alliance over claims that it could affect the agricultural sector.
