Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free
A guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
Bank of America and Citigroup said on Tuesday they were withdrawing from the world’s largest bank climate coalition, the latest sign that corporate America may abandon climate goals during Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. president.
Bank of America and Citigroup are the latest major U.S. banks to withdraw from the net-zero banking alliance this month, following Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo. The U.N.-backed climate pledge that Citi helped launch in 2021 is seen as an important step toward reducing global warming by limiting investment and lending to greenhouse gas-emitting industries.
Citi said in a statement that despite withdrawing from the alliance, it remains committed to its climate goals and plans to refocus its funding on emerging markets to support those countries’ climate initiatives.
“We will continue to work with our clients to help them transition to a low-carbon economy while helping to ensure energy security,” the bank said.
Like Citi, Bank of America said in the statement that it will work with clients to achieve its climate goals.
But Bank of America and other major companies are increasingly under pressure from Republican lawmakers to distance themselves from pledges to force banks to reduce lending to the oil and gas industry or other traditional energy producers.
After Trump was elected president, this pressure increased.
In November, Republican-led states filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard Group, accusing the three largest U.S. index fund managers of using their investment powers to limit supply to meet net-zero carbon emissions goals.
Additional reporting by Kenza Bryan in London and Patrick Temple-West in New York
