Bank of America announced its commitment to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from its financing activities by 2050, following an earlier announcement to measure and disclose its financed emissions through the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF).
Bank of America joins Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase as the largest US banks committed to achieving net-zero-financed emissions. Investors expect other major banking institutions will follow Bank of America’s leadership in setting net-zero by 2050 financed-emission goals.
Shareholders are increasingly concerned about the systemic impacts of climate change to the economy and have sought action from banks through a series of shareholder proposals over the past three years. Shareholder advocate As You Sow — joined by several investors including Mercy Investment Services, Arjuna Capital, Boston Trust Walden, Presbyterian Church USA, and Boston Common Asset Management, among others — has filed climate-focused resolutions with a large segment of the US banking industry, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup, asking banks to immediately take tangible steps to measure, disclose and, importantly, to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their financing activities, including in particular their financing of fossil fuels.
In 2020, As You Sow and Arjuna Capital filed a shareholder proposal with Bank of America asking if and how it would align it’s financing with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degree goal. After a constructive engagement, followed by Bank of America’s commitment, As You Sow has withdrawn its proposal. As the fourth largest global financier of fossil fuels, Bank of American’s leadership is significant, signaling that it will transition its financing activities in line with global climate goals.
