Goldman Sachs pulls out of global climate coalition for banks
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Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) said this week it has quit one of the top international green energy banking alliances, a signal of declining interest on Wall Street in climate activism against a backdrop of increasing pressure from Republicans.
Goldman (GS) became the biggest bank to announce its departure from the United Nations-backed Net-Zero Banking Alliance, without explaining why it would be leaving the coalition but saying it will continue to focus on its sustainability goals.
The bank insisted it has made “significant progress” on its net-zero goals and said “our priorities remain to help our clients achieve their sustainability goals and to measure and report on our progress.”
The NZBA was launched in 2021 in an attempt to bring global banks and institutions on board with setting climate targets in alignment with the Paris Agreement; banks joining the coalition agreed to align with the aim of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, set targets to get them there and publish progress on their efforts each year, which Goldman Sachs said it will continue to do.
It is unclear what will happen to U.S. rules regarding climate-related disclosures under President-elect Trump, but many large U.S. firms including Goldman Sachs (GS) will still need to disclose under European Union rules.