Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Lobbying, PR and greenwashing · International · 2023–2026

Net Zero Banking Alliance exits and closure

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured · 1 disputed See the gaps

Major banks left the Net-Zero Banking Alliance from December 2024, and its members voted on 3 October 2025 to cease operations. In 2024 it had covered more than 140 banks.

140+Banks in the alliance at its peak
Representing $74 trillion in assets, 2024, as stated in the sources reviewed.

Status As of February 2026: NZBA closed after the 3 October 2025 vote; its asset-manager counterpart NZAM returned with 253 signatories.

What?
The Net-Zero Banking Alliance lost its large US and several European and Asian members from December 2024, and its members voted to cease operations on 3 October 2025. Carbon Pulse
Where?
Global alliance; exits by banks in the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Japan.
When?
December 2024 to October 2025. Carbon Pulse
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Barclays said the alliance no longer had the membership to support its transition; no source reviewed gives a single common reason. Cyprus Mail
How?
Individual banks announced exits; members then voted on 3 October 2025 to cease operations immediately and move to a guidance-based model. Carbon Pulse
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who

What happened

The record, in order.

In 2023, insurers left the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance within two months. Munich Re gave competition-law risk as a reason. Esgtoday reported that UNEP said the exits came "in light of the recent discussions within the United States."

Between December 2024 and January 2025, six large US banks left the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). JPMorgan left between late December 2024 and early January 2025; Bank of America left in December 2024 or January 2025; Citi is reported to have left on 31 December 2024. HSBC, a founder, left on 11 July 2025, and Barclays on about 1 August 2025.

Other departures reported include MUFG, a steering-group member until March 2025, and UBS in August 2025. In April 2025 Rabobank was still a member.

On 3 October 2025 NZBA members voted to cease operations immediately and shift to a guidance-based model. At its peak in 2024 the alliance covered more than 140 banks representing $74 trillion in assets.

Banking on Climate Chaos reported banks' fossil fuel financing of $869 billion in 2024. For 2025 it ranked JPMorgan Chase first ($58.2 billion), Bank of America second ($47.3 billion), MUFG third ($47.0 billion) and Citi fifth ($45.3 billion).

  1. 2023Insurers leave the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance within two months; Munich Re cites competition-law risk
  2. 2024February: JPMorgan Asset Management, State Street and PIMCO leave Climate Action 100+ (related). November: Texas and other states sue BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street over alleged coordination on coal (related)
  3. 2025Dec 2024 to Jan 2025: six large US banks leave NZBA and BlackRock leaves the asset-manager alliance (NZAM), which is suspended. HSBC leaves 11 July; Barclays about 1 August; UBS in August; NZBA members vote to cease operations 3 October; NZAM announces relaunch without its 2050 requirement 30 October
  4. 2026NZAM returns with 253 signatories (February); a federal judge finds Texas SB 13 unconstitutional (February, related)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“the organisation no longer has the membership to support our transition.”

Barclays, on leaving NZBA · August 2025 · Cyprus Mail

“in light of the recent discussions within the United States”

UNEP, as reported by Esgtoday, on the 2023 insurer exits from the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance · 30 May 2023 · ESG Today

“immediately cease operations and shift to a guidance-based model”

NZBA members' vote, as reported by ESG Dive · 3 October 2025

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Why did the members leave the climate alliances?
Company or project
Barclays

“the organisation no longer has the membership to support our transition.”

Cyprus Mail
Company or project
Munich Re (Net-Zero Insurance Alliance, 2023)

Competition-law risk.

International bodies
UNEP (Net-Zero Insurance Alliance, 2023, via Esgtoday)

The exits came “in light of the recent discussions within the United States.”

ESG Today

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

    Recorded

    • More than 140 banks, $74 trillion in assets at the alliance's peak (2024)
    • Six large US banks left between December 2024 and January 2025
    • Members voted to cease operations on 3 October 2025
      Carbon Pulse
    • HSBC, a founder, left on 11 July 2025
      ESG Today
    • Citi reported to have exited on 31 December 2024 (secondary report)
      Sustainability Magazine
    • Banks' fossil fuel financing: $869 billion in 2024
    • Banking on Climate Chaos 2026: JPMorgan Chase $58.2 billion in 2025 (rank 1; $248.5 billion over 2021–25); Bank of America $47.3 billion (rank 2); MUFG $47.0 billion (rank 3); Citi $45.3 billion (rank 5; $206.9 billion over 2021–25)
    • Banking on Climate Chaos 2026: JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs abandoned their coal exclusions

    Who gained

    Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

    Reached nature or the ground

    Not published
    No figure published.

    Gained elsewhere

    Not totalled
    Currency: USD · Window: 2024–2025. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

    Responses on record

    • barclays (August 2025): Said it left because the organisation no longer had the membership to support its transition. · Cyprus Mail
    • munich-re (2023): Gave competition-law risk as the reason for leaving the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance.
    • unep (May 2023): Said, as reported by Esgtoday, that the insurer exits came in light of recent discussions within the United States. · ESG Today

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What nature saw

    Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

    Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

    Banks' fossil fuel financing, 2024
    $869 billion
    Global total as stated in the sources reviewed
    Largest financier, 2025
    JPMorgan Chase, $58.2 billion
    Banking on Climate Chaos 2026

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
    No court caseKey earnings undisclosed

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Court

    Accounts

    • Disputed Why did the members leave the climate alliances?

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: MUFG as a lender to the Mozambique LNG project, from tags on the Zitamar news site.
    • None on record Exit dates for Bank of America and Citi (31 December 2024) come from secondary reports; JPMorgan's is given as between late December 2024 and early January 2025.
    • None on record No source reviewed gives a single common reason for the bank departures.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not applicable: the record concerns membership of a voluntary alliance, not a specific site.

    Who paid?

    No payment or loss is recorded in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Carbon and conservation finance

    ESG
    Environmental, social and governance criteria that investors and insurers use to screen companies and projects.

    Insurance

    Reinsurance
    Insurance bought by insurers to pass part of their own risk to other companies.
    Underwriter
    An insurer, or a person at an insurer, who assesses a risk and decides whether and on what terms to insure it.

    Bonds and banking

    Arranger
    The bank that structures and sells a bond or loan deal, usually for a fee.
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