HSBC has withdrawn from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) following the departure of 17 other banks, according to a statement released last Friday.
The UK banking giant was a founding member of the UN-convened alliance in 2021, which committed members to the transition to net zero and reaching goals laid out in the Paris Agreement.
“With this foundation in place, and as we work towards updating and implementing our Net Zero Transition Plan later in 2025, we, like many of our global peers, have decided to withdraw from the NZBA,” said HSBC in the statement.
Net zero refers to a balance between the production and removal of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and attaining Net Zero is an internationally recognised goal in slowing down the progression of global warming. The 2015 agreement, adopted by 195 parties at the UN Climate Change Conference, underlined the need to achieve the target.
String of departures
HSBC added that they remained committed to achieving net zero by 2050: “We continue to support customers in all sectors to make progress towards their individual decarbonisation plans, recognising that the transition to net zero is not linear or uniform across sectors, markets, and regions.”
The move follows a string of departures from the alliance including six major US banks: Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan Chase. Each exited following the election of US President Donald Trump.
Trump signed an executive order in January to begin a process to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
When HKFP asked HSBC if there will be any external audit or monitoring of their new 2050 commitment, the bank did not respond. Nor did they reply when asked on Monday what environmental initiatives may be dropped as a result of the alliance withdrawal.
However, a spokesperson for HSBC Hong Kong told HKFP that they “remain resolutely focused on supporting our customers to finance their transition objectives and on making progress towards our net zero by 2050 ambition.”
An NZBA spokesperson told ESG Today: “Following a powerful mandate renewal and endorsement of its future direction from member banks in April this year, NZBA is helping facilitate the enabling conditions needed for banks’ clients to invest in the net-zero transition. In the last two months alone, this has included work on policy engagement, transition finance, and convening leaders from different sectors to increase understanding and accelerate progress.
“As the world urgently seeks to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, NZBA is on the strongest possible footing to support members’ continued progress on independent business strategies that are enabling the shift towards a net-zero economy.”
