Non-profits express concern over banks’ Race to Zero compliance

A group of sustainable investment advocacy organisations, including ShareAction, BankTrack and Reclaim Finance, have written to the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI) and the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) calling on banks to restrict their financing of fossil fuel projects. The group opposes the NZBA’s suggestion that its guidelines for climate target setting will be reviewed every three years, arguing that reviews must be more frequent. In addition, they expressed concerns over reports claiming that, according to UNEP-FI, alliances will not need to update core commitments in order to meet the expectations of the UN’s Race to Zero campaign: “To us this assertion questions the whole structure of GFANZ [the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero] and its requirement for Race to Zero compliance,” the letter states. The 16 signatories have asked for a response by 11 October.