CitiGroup Exits Net-Zero Banking Alliance, Joins Growing List of U.S. Banks Scaling Back Climate Commitments
Daniel Kim Views
CitiGroup has made notable progress toward its net-zero goal and has decided to leave the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), a global coalition of banks committed to climate action.
On Wednesday, CitiGroup announced its withdrawal from the NZBA, an organization dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
This decision makes CitiGroup the third major U.S. lender to exit the alliance, following Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., which withdrew earlier this month.
Financial institutions, often criticized for their ties to the fossil fuel industry, have been working to adopt net-zero standards across their operations.
However, these institutions have started scaling back some initiatives to avoid conflict with Republican policymakers who oppose restrictions on fossil fuel financing.
Last month, major asset managers BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street faced legal challenges in ten Republican-led states, including Texas. The lawsuit accuses them of antitrust violations through climate activism that allegedly reduced coal production and raised energy prices.
The NZBA aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from its members’ lending and investment portfolios by 2050.
CitiGroup’s stock price remained steady at $70.39.
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