The Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), the sector’s flagship coalition for cutting global carbon emissions, has said it will restructure following the departure of several of its biggest members.
Formed in 2021 ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, the NZBA is proposing to move from a “membership-based alliance” to a “framework initiative”. Under its current rules, members are required to commit to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, set interim 2030 targets for carbon-intensive sectors, and publish annual progress reports. A vote on the changes is due by the end of September.
The shift follows a series of withdrawals by major banks under political and regulatory pressure. UBS became the latest to leave earlier this month, following Barclays and HSBC in the UK, and after earlier departures by leading lenders in the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan. Critics in the US, particularly some Republican politicians, had argued that membership risked breaching antitrust laws.
In a statement, the NZBA steering group said the revised model would help banks remain resilient and accelerate “the real economy transition” consistent with the 2015 Paris Agreement. It said the changes would enable ongoing engagement with the global banking industry and provide guidance and tools to support banks and their clients in decarbonisation.
However, campaigners said the overhaul underscored the fragility of voluntary corporate action. Lucie Pinson, director of non-profit Reclaim Finance, argued the changes were an attempt to mask declining relevance: “For those working to protect the environment and the climate, this underlines once again the limits of voluntary corporate commitments and the urgent need for binding measures, including strong regulatory action, to trigger real change.”
