Australian bank Macquarie has announced it is withdrawing from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), a group of banks around the world seeking to align their operations with net zero guidelines by 2050.
Macquarie, which joins U.S. peers Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan in withdrawing from the alliance, said in a statement that it set out its net zero strategy in 2022, updating it in 2023.
During that time, the NZBA ‘helped develop global frameworks and assisted member banks as they established their initial decarbonisation plans. With those building blocks now in place, like many peers Macquarie will no longer be a member of NZBA, as we focus on updating and delivering our plans and reporting in line with regulatory requirements’.
Sustainability goals
In the statement, the bank said that it remains committed to a number of sustainability targets, including investing in climate mitigation measures, the deployment of renewable energy at scale, investment in technologies that are ‘critical to the transition’, including batteries, hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel, and emissions reduction initiatives.
It also plans to support its portfolio companies in developing and implementing net zero plans, and seeks to continue its role as an advisor on renewable energy transactions.
‘We also believe that the transition must be managed, orderly and just, which is why we have continued to support carbon intensive industries to reduce their emissions and continue to work with oil and gas companies, in recognition that much of the world will depend on carbon-intensive industries for a period as mitigation solutions are implemented,’ the bank said.
Annual report
Macquarie plans to provide further details on its sustainability progress in its annual report, set to be published in May.
The withdrawal of another major bank is undoubtedly a setback for the NZBA, which was established in 2021. It still includes major institutions like HSBC, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and Singapore’s DBS Bank, and represents a combined total asset value of approximately $56 trillion. Read more here.
