Goldman Sachs () said it has exited an industry coalition that aims to align bank lending and investment activities with global efforts to combat climate change.
The US investment bank’s decision comes amid pressure from some Republican politicians who have suggested that membership of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) could violate antitrust rules.
Goldman Sachs gave no explicit reason for its departure, but focused on its strategy for the future and growing pressure from regulators to make sustainability efforts mandatory.
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“We have the capabilities to achieve our goals and support our customers’ sustainability objectives. Goldman Sachs is also very focused on increasingly high sustainability standards and reporting requirements imposed by regulators around the world,” it said in a statement on Friday.
Banks that joined the voluntary NZBA agreed to align with the global goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, set targets to help get there and publish the progress of their efforts each year, something Goldman Sachs said it will continue to do. .
“We have made significant progress in recent years towards the company’s net-zero (emissions) goals and we look forward to making further progress, including expanding into additional sectors in the coming months,” he said.
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“Our priorities continue to be helping our customers achieve their sustainability goals and measuring and reporting our progress.”
Earlier this year, several U.S. investors, including the fund management arm of Goldman Sachs, left a global coalition that had been pushing companies to rein in climate-damaging emissions.
