Some of the biggest lenders in the US are beating a retreat from a UN-backed bank climate group in the final weeks before a new Trump administration prepares to take office.
The latest big bank to announce it was leaving the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) is Morgan Stanley (MS), which confirmed its exit Thursday following recent departures from Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Goldman Sachs (GS).
Some, including Morgan Stanley, said the departures don’t represent a rejection of their climate goals.
“Morgan Stanley’s commitment to net-zero remains unchanged,” the New York investment bank said in a statement emailed to Yahoo Finance on Thursday.
Citigroup also said “we remain committed to reaching net zero and continue to be transparent about our progress.”
The NZBA was formed in 2021 as part of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, and a number of banks touted their initial membership in the alliance as financial-sector commitments to net zero goals became a focus for Wall Street.
Now such affiliations are coming under political attack as the GOP prepares to take over all of Washington in 2025 and ramps up a focus on “woke” investing.
The House Judiciary Committee led by Ohio Republican Jim Jordan in December criticized financial environmental alliances, saying they have created what it called “a climate cartel.”
Another climate coalition formed with an aim to limit greenhouse gases globally, Climate Action 100+, has lost JPMorgan Chase (JPM), State Street (STT), BlackRock (BLK) and Pimco as members. Another affiliated group for insurers, the Net Zero Insurance Alliance, also experienced an exit of members in 2023.
Last year Jordan called the Climate Action 100+ withdrawals “big wins for freedom and the American economy, and we hope more financial institutions follow suit in abandoning collusive ESG actions.”
Banks aren’t abandoning all climate groups. Citigroup, for example, remains part of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, the wider climate initiative that houses NZBA and also includes coalitions of large asset managers and insurers.
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan along with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink were founding principals of that alliance.
Earlier this week, that alliance shared a statement announcing changes to the organization that loosened the barriers for participation.
Under the new guidance, participating firms won’t be required to meet goals set out in the Paris Climate agreement, according to a Bloomberg report.
