Non-profit and shareholder representative As You Sow has filed resolutions with five of the largest US banks requesting them to disclose climate transition plans for achieving their 2030 net zero-aligned greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction goals. The five banks – Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo – are among the largest global lenders and underwriters of fossil fuels, despite them being part of the Net Zero Banking Alliance. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and three of the city’s pension funds have offered shareholder proposals which call on several banks to disclose absolute greenhouse gas emissions targets for 2030. These proposals filed at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Royal Bank of Canada request the absolute GHG emissions targets covering lending and underwriting for oil and gas and power generation sectors. The pension funds which backed the plan include the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System, and Board of Education Retirement System. Denmark’s largest bank Danske Bank has announced it will quit new fossil fuel financing after finding that 99.9% of its carbon footprint comes from financed emissions.
Shareholders applauded banks when they set net zero goals – but it can’t be all talk.
NYC pension funds are asking Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs & Royal Bank of Canada to disclose absolute GHG targets for 2030.https://t.co/ViBFdNDpEq
— Comptroller Brad Lander (@NYCComptroller) January 24, 2023
