(Credit: Pixabay)Wells Fargo this week announced another step in its efforts to support the transition to a low-carbon economy by setting a goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions — including its financed emissions — by 2050. To help meet this ambitious goal, Wells Fargo will measure and disclose financed emissions for select carbon-intensive portfolios; set interim emission reduction targets; deploy more capital to finance climate innovation; and continue to work with its clients on their own emissions reduction efforts. 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.
Wells Fargo outlined five areas of focus:
Setting a goal to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
-- Net zero goal includes Scopes 1, 2, and 3 financed emissions.
-- Wells Fargo achieved carbon neutrality in its operations (Scopes 1 and 2) in 2019.
Committing to disclose the company’s financed emissions measurement approach and provide more robust emissions data
-- Disclose its approach to measuring Scope 3 financed emissions within a year.
-- Enhance transparency and disclose financed emissions for select carbon intensive portfolios — including the oil and gas sectors, and power sector — no later than the end of 2022.
-- Expand disclosures to eventually include all financed emissions as sufficiently reliable data becomes available.
Setting interim emission reduction targets for select carbon intensive portfolios, including oil and gas, and power
-- Set and disclose interim targets for select carbon intensive portfolios — including the oil and gas sectors, and power sector — no later than the end of 2022.
-- Set and disclose targets for additional sectors within a reasonable time after disclosing financed emissions for those sectors.
Establishing an Institute for Sustainable Finance
-- Establish an institute that will work across the enterprise to support clients in their climate transitions.
-- Deploy an additional $500 billion in sustainable finance by 2030, building on the $157 billion provided since 2012.
-- Support clients’ efforts to quantify their emissions.
-- Support science-based research to aid clients in their low-carbon transitions.
-- Advocate for policy initiatives that support clients’ low-carbon transitions as well as those that advance the US meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.
-- Work to support communities as they prepare for and adapt to increasing weather-related impacts with a focus on low- and moderate-income and other vulnerable communities that are being disproportionally impacted by climate change.
Integrating climate considerations into Risk Management Framework
-- Integrate climate considerations into the company’s Risk Management Framework, eventually utilizing sufficiently reliable data as it becomes available, and use client carbon transition plans in our decision-making processes.
