Has NZBA’s Closure Put Climate Strategy On CEOs’ Desks?

The Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) has shut down with immediate effect, drawing a sharp line under one of finance’s most visible collective commitments to carbon reduction and forcing bank CEOs to recalibrate their climate strategies in-house.

A spokesperson for the NZBA said members voted to move from a membership-based alliance to “establishing its guidance as a new framework initiative”.

The spokesperson added: “The Guidance for Climate Target Setting for Banks and supporting implementation resources are the most widely used global banking framework focused specifically on setting decarbonisation targets and will remain Barclays publicly available.

"Individual banks worldwide can continue to use and reference these resources to help develop and deliver on their own net zero transition plans.”

The pivot follows a wave of high-profile departures in recent months, widely linked to the election of US President Donald Trump and subsequent attacks on DEI initiatives and the drive towards net zero.

Exiting institutions include:

• JPMorgan Chase
• Citigroup
• Bank of America
• Goldman Sachs
• UBS
• Wells Fargo
• Morgan Stanley
• HSBC
• Barclays
• Bank of Montreal
• National Bank of Canada
• TD Bank
• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
• Scotiabank

Executives have privately cited a mix of operational autonomy, legal exposure, and escalating regulatory and political pressure as drivers.

Common guidelines for leadership teams

Formed in 2021 alongside the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), the NZBA asked members to align financing portfolios with net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, set interim 2030 targets and report annually on absolute and intensity-based emissions.

It signposted methodologies, data practices and sector pathways while offering resources to help banks set science-based targets and develop Paris-aligned strategies.

For many leadership teams, NZBA provided a common language and guardrails; its closure removes a layer of shared accountability and leaves CEOs to steer transition plans under intensifying scrutiny from investors, policymakers and clients.

Executive disappointment 

The decision has been met with anger from responsible investment advocates. Jeanne Martin, co-Director of Corporate Engagement at ShareAction, said: “It’s bitterly disappointing to see the biggest banks in the world vote to step away from accountability around their commitments to prevent the worst effects of global heating.

"The climate crisis is driving up food prices, multiplying health risks with extreme heat, especially for the most vulnerable in society, and causing destruction to homes and lives through floods and wildfires.”

Jeanne added: “Despite some governments and corporates dialling down on their efforts to tackle the climate crisis, public support for climate action remains high and many investors are all too conscious of the massive risks to the economy of a worsening climate.

"Senior bankers need to be far more courageous in this decisive moment for all our futures and must use their influence to push up standards for accountability on climate if we are to stand any chance of making the clean energy transition happen.”

NZBA’s influence had already been waning. In November 2024, it counted 140 member banks representing US$75.5tn in assets; by August 2025, after exits by HSBC, Barclays and UBS, that figure had fallen to US$42.2tn.

Announcing its August exit, Barclays said that with the departure of most global banks, the organisation no longer had the membership to “support our transition.”

Meanwhile, political pressure in the US, particularly from Republican-led states, has intensified.

Major banks and climate alliances faced threats of antitrust action for allegedly “boycotting” fossil fuels, with investigations reportedly shelved once US banks left NZBA.

During Climate Week NYC, Satya Tripathi, former secretary of the UN’s Environment Management Group and a former head of UN Environment New York, urged financial leaders to hold the line: “Net zero has become a political goal. When the political leadership changes you are left standing in the middle of the public square.”

The path forward for CEOs

For CEOs, the future now hinges on individual credibility, not collective cover. Practical imperatives include:

• Preserve the discipline: continue using the NZBA Guidance for Climate Target Setting for Banks and supporting resources, even absent formal membership.

• Double down on governance: reinforce board oversight, link executive remuneration to material transition KPIs, and ensure independent verification of targets and progress.

• Focus on real-economy impact: shift from broad pledges to sector-by-sector, client-by-client transition plans, financing capex for credible decarbonisation while clarifying policies on high-emitting exposures.

• Communicate with conviction: avoid “greenhushing.” Provide transparent, decision-useful disclosures to investors and regulators on scenarios, financed emissions, and capital allocation.

• Manage political risk: stress-test strategies for divergent policy environments and build coalitions with clients and peers around pragmatic, technology-neutral pathways.

With the alliance era fading, leadership resolve and execution now determine who sets the pace—and who gets left “standing in the middle of the public square.”