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

In the lead up to the inauguration, the six largest US banks left a voluntary alliance with the UN to reach net zero by 2050. Now, critics are calling for new climate laws.

The alliance asks member banks to commit to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across their operations and “lending and investment portfolios” by 2050, and to set intermediary emission-reduction targets for 2030 and every five years thereafter. In 2023, Amalgamated Bank’s chief sustainability officer, Ivan Frishberg, told the business publication Responsible Investor that NZBA signatories were “being left alone at the altar” as governments around the world failed to legislate a transition away from fossil fuels. At the time, California had already passed two laws requiring large businesses, including banks, to report their greenhouse gas emissions annually and disclose their climate-related financial risks biannually.

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