(Credit: Wells Fargo)Wells Fargo today announced its interim targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions attributable to its financing activities in the Oil & Gas and Power sectors. The 2030 reduction targets for these sectors, based on a 2019 baseline, are:
- Oil & Gas sector: 26% reduction in absolute emissions
- Power sector: 60% reduction in portfolio emissions intensity
This is part of the company’s work to realize its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, including client emissions attributable to its financing. The company intends to reach this net-zero ambition by continuing to work with its clients and providing the capital needed to meet demands.
The targets are detailed in CO2eMissionSM, Wells Fargo’s methodology for aligning its financial portfolios to the goals of the Paris Agreement and setting interim, emissions-based targets to guide that alignment. This methodology takes a sectoral approach, which recognizes that each sector of the economy is unique and will have its own decarbonization pathway.
According to the company’s Goal to Achieve Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050, Wells Fargo will measure and disclose financed emissions for select carbon-intensive portfolios, set interim emission reduction targets, and deploy more capital to finance climate innovation. The company will also launch an Institute for Sustainable Finance to manage the deployment of $500 billion of financing to sustainable businesses and projects by 2030, as well as support science-based research on low-carbon solutions and advocate for policies that enable client transitions.
Other areas of progress for the company include:
- releasing its first Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Report, which provides an update on the company’s progress managing climate related risks and opportunities
- reaching $10 billion in renewable energy financing and serving as a lead underwriter on sustainability-designated bonds
- collaborating with leading government and nonprofit organizations to advance clean technology innovation, community resiliency (PDF), and green jobs
The company expects to publicly report on the progress made against the targets for Oil & Gas and Power and plans to set additional targets for other key emitting sectors.
