The Biggest US Banks Have All Backed Out of a Commitment to Reach Net Zero

This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In the lead-up to Inauguration Day, all six of the United States’ largest banks backed away from a United Nations–sponsored climate initiative amid attacks from conservative lawmakers and regulators. Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo left the Net Zero Banking Alliance between December and January in what was perceived to be a concession to right-wing criticism of so-called ESG—decisionmaking driven by environmental, social, and corporate governance considerations. Nineteen Republican attorneys general had issued “civil investigative demands” to those banks in 2022, demanding that they turn over information about their ESG practices. They argued that the alliance was beholden to “the woke climate agenda” and that it violated antitrust laws. While the banks’ exodus from the alliance certainly looks like a setback for the banking sector’s climate pr ... Read full article.