11 July 2021 – The Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), established in April 2021 by 43 founding banks, and convened by UNEP Finance Initiative, has now grown to 53 banks from 27 countries with US$ 37 trillion in total assets – representing almost a quarter of banking assets worldwide¹.

Announced at the G20 Venice International Conference on Climate, the 10 members who have joined since the launch of the Alliance are: ABANCA, AIB, Banco Bradesco S.A., Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel, Groupe BPCE, MUFG, Nationwide Building Society and Swedbank.

Eric Usher, Head of the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative said: “In this critical year for climate, we welcome those banks who have shown leadership by committing to transition their portfolios to align with a 1.5°​C pathway, in line with science. With almost a quarter of global banking assets now in the Alliance, we hope the growth in membership and geographic diversity inspires other banks worldwide to follow suit and take the urgent steps needed to meet the Paris Climate Agreement.

The Net-Zero Banking Alliance recognises of the vital role of banks in supporting the global transition of the real economy to net-zero emissions. All banks who are members of the Alliance have signed the Commitment Statement which is underpinned by the Guidelines for Climate Target Setting.

The Alliance is part of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), chaired by Mark Carney, which brings together over 250 financial institutions across Race to Zero initiatives from 32 countries, representing over US$88 trillion in assets. The current members of GFANZ are the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, the Industry-led, UN-convened Net-Zero Banking Alliance and the Net-Zero Asset Managers Initiative.

^{1. Global banking assets source: FSB Global Monitoring Report 2020}