UBS Withdraws from Net Zero Banking Alliance as European Exits Accelerate

Swiss banking group UBS has exited the UN-backed Net-Zero Banking Alliance, becoming the first major European bank outside the UK to leave the coalition after HSBC and Barclays. The departure follows UBS resetting its climate goals earlier this year, including pushing its net zero operations target back by ten years to 2035.

UBS joined the NZBA as a founding member in 2021 and has now become the latest in a series of global banks to withdraw amid political and commercial pressure. Earlier in 2025, UBS pushed back its net zero operations target by ten years to 2035 and withdrew a goal for its Asset Management division to align 20% of assets under management with net zero by 2030, citing its acquisition of Credit Suisse. The bank also softened language around its Scope 3 financed emissions commitments in its sustainability report, though it confirmed it remains committed to decarbonisation targets in specified sectors.

UBS stated that with NZBA's initial target-setting framework now advanced and its internal capabilities strengthened, it has decided to withdraw like several global peers. The exit accelerates what has become a substantial depletion of NZBA membership — all major Wall Street banks and their Canadian counterparts departed earlier in 2025. The departures have been driven significantly by U.S. Republican political pressure warning financial institutions of potential antitrust violations from participating in net zero coalitions.

Following the departure of North American banks, the NZBA in April 2025 eliminated a mandatory requirement for member banks to align lending and capital markets with the 1.5°C warming goal. The NZBA has responded by urging remaining members to maintain climate commitments, stressing that bold action from the banking sector has never been more needed. UBS said its commitment to sustainability remains unchanged and that it continues embedding climate risk into its risk management and stress-testing frameworks.

Key figure — Net zero operations target pushed back 10 years to 2035