JPMorganChase has announced the launch of a new Center for Energy and the Environment (CE&E), which it says will bring together expertise on what the bank calls the ‘Four Forces’ shaping energy outcomes: affordability, security, reliability and sustainability.
The opening of the CE&E follows on from recent sustainable investment activities undertaken by JPMorganChase – back in 2021, for example, it set portfolio-level carbon intensity targets and a $2.5 trillion Sustainable Development Target.
Elsewhere, the bank said that it facilitates nearly $100 billion a year to add new energy from all sources, while its tax-oriented investing team has helped finance one in four gigawatts of US renewables and storage.
‘Economic opportunity’
“Meeting energy demand while balancing affordability, security, reliability, and sustainability, what we call the ‘Four Forces,’ is one of the defining economic opportunities of our era,” commented Heather Zichal, head of the CE&E and global head of sustainability at JPMorganChase.
The CE&E will connect the bank’s work on energy and climate targets with policy expertise and is intended to identify barriers to progress that cannot be addressed through financing alone.
Its agenda will include an increased focus on scaling finance; approaching the energy system holistically; using its platform to support market and policy solutions; and leading with data and transparency.
Allied to this, it plans to use its position across businesses and markets to bring companies, policymakers and investors together around policy and market barriers.
Capital mobilisation
JPMorganChase has brought its Center for Carbon Transition and Corporate Sustainability into the new CE&E, and has changed how it measures energy and environmental capital mobilisation. Elsewhere, it has also updated its portfolio-level carbon intensity targets to align with the International Energy Agency’s 2025 Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario.
“These principles reflect how we intend to lead: with pragmatism, candor about the trade-offs, and clear focus on helping our clients succeed in a complex and rapidly evolving world,” said Zichal. “The opportunity in front of us is enormous. Let’s get to work.” Read more here.
