(Reuters) – American banks Citigroup Bank of America (NYSE:) said Tuesday that it will exit the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), a group of global banks that have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
They follow Wells Fargo (NYSE:) and Goldman Sachs, which left the alliance earlier this month.
Financial companies, which have historically been criticized for their ties to the fossil fuel industry, have made efforts to more clearly integrate net zero standards into their operations.
However, they have begun to scale back some initiatives to avoid angering Republican policymakers who oppose limiting fossil fuel financing.
City said it had made progress towards achieving its net goals and had decided to leave the New Zealand Football League.
“We will continue to work with customers on this issue and address their needs,” Bank of America said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
The NZBA aims to reduce carbon emissions from its members' lending and investment portfolios to zero on a net basis by 2050.
Last month, BlackRock (NYSE:), Vanguard and… State Street (NYSE:) was sued by Texas and 10 other Republican-led states, which said the large asset managers violated antitrust law through climate activism that reduced coal production and boosted energy prices.
(This story has been reworded to add dropped words in quote in paragraph 6)
