By Simon Jessop and Virginia Furness
LONDON (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs said it has quit a sector coalition aimed at aligning bank lending and investment activities with global efforts to fight climate change, marking the latest high-profile departure of a U.S. financial firm from the group.
The U.S. investment bank’s decision comes against a backdrop of pressure from some Republican politicians who have suggested that membership of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) could breach anti-trust rules.
Goldman Sachs gave no explicit reason for its departure, but focused on its strategy for the future and a growing push by regulators to make sustainability efforts mandatory.
“We have the capabilities to achieve our goals and to support the sustainability objectives of our clients. Goldman Sachs is also very focused on the increasingly elevated sustainability standards and reporting requirements imposed by regulators around the world,” it said in a statement on Friday.
Banks joining the voluntary NZBA agree to align with the world’s aim of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, set targets to help get them there and publish progress on their efforts each year, something Goldman Sachs said it would continue to do.
“We have made significant progress in recent years on the firm’s net zero goals and we look forward to making further progress, including by expanding to additional sectors in the coming months,” it said.
“Our priorities remain to help our clients achieve their sustainability goals and to measure and report on our progress.”
Earlier this year, a number of U.S. investors, including the fund management arm of Goldman Sachs, left a global coalition pushing companies to rein in climate-damaging emissions.
Investors including BlackRock are currently being sued by Texas and 10 other Republican-led states over alleged violations of anti-trust law.
(Reporting by Simon Jessop and Virginia Furness; Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Alexander Smith)
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