Net Zero Banking Alliance Shuts Down After Wave of Bank Departures

The Net-Zero Banking Alliance announced it will cease operations immediately following a member vote to transition from a membership-based alliance to a standalone guidance framework. The decision ends the UN-backed coalition, which at its peak in 2024 comprised over 140 banks representing $74 trillion in assets.

The NZBA was launched in 2021 with commitments from 43 banks to align their lending activities with net zero pathways by 2050 and to set 2030 financed emissions targets. Membership grew rapidly to over 140 banks by 2024. Departures began in December 2024 with Goldman Sachs, followed within weeks by all major Wall Street banks, then their Canadian counterparts in early 2025. After a restructuring in April 2025 that eliminated the mandatory 1.5°C alignment requirement for lending and capital markets activities, departures slowed before resuming, with HSBC leaving in July 2025 and UBS and Barclays following in August.

The political campaign against climate finance alliances, led primarily by Republican US state officials and the Trump federal administration, played a decisive role in the NZBA's collapse. Banks cited legal concerns about participation in coordinated climate actions under US antitrust frameworks and the threat of being excluded from state government business. The NZBA's disbanding follows the 2024 winding down of the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance and the suspension of core activities by the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, signalling systemic fragmentation of the climate finance coalition infrastructure built after COP26.

The NZBA's guidance framework and implementation resources will remain publicly available and can continue to be used by banks setting their own decarbonization targets. EY's Gill Lofts described the restructuring as a strategic correction that may create new opportunities for broader global participation, including from banks in emerging markets and the Global South that were previously unable to meet the commitment requirements. For India's banking sector, which has been expanding sustainable finance frameworks, the available guidance represents a technical resource for setting net zero aligned targets without the reputational risks associated with formal coalition membership.

Key figure — 140+ banks representing $74 trillion in assets at peak NZBA membership (2024)