Overview

• Members voted to end the alliance and convert its work into a non-membership guidance framework, and operations cease immediately.
• The NZBA’s Guidance for Climate Target Setting for Banks and related implementation tools will remain publicly available for lenders to use.
• Launched in 2021 under the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative, the group at one point counted nearly 150 member banks worldwide.
• A wave of departures since late 2024 included JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and other North American lenders, followed by HSBC and Barclays in the UK, with reporting linking exits to shifting political pressures after President Donald Trump’s election.
• The alliance had paused activity in late August pending the vote, and advocates such as ShareAction criticized the shutdown as weakening coordinated oversight of banks’ climate commitments.