From Rhetoric to Reality: Investigating Financial Institutions' Net Zero

The analysis finds that most net-zero portfolio commitments by large asset managers are unlikely to achieve global net-zero emissions by mid-century and often do not signal a shift toward serious climate action. The report highlights that intensity-based sectoral targets and absolute targets without re-baselining are ineffective for driving a low-carbon transition, while short-term investor focus hinders collective action. It recommends that financial institutions, particularly universal owners, shift focus toward systematically supporting the transition of economic actors to sustainable business models and calls for more stringent oversight to prevent greenwashing.

• A significant number of the world's largest financial institutions have committed to net zero portfolio targets as of July 2023, including 37 of the 50 largest asset managers, 24 of the 50 largest asset owners, and 33 of the 50 largest banks.
• Most analyzed net zero portfolio commitments are insufficient to achieve global net-zero real-world emissions by mid-century and generally do not indicate a transition to serious climate action by the financial institutions.
• Intensity-based sectoral targets and absolute targets lacking comprehensive re-baselining are ineffective in supporting financial decision-making for a low-carbon transition, while short-termism acts as a barrier to collective action.

APA

NewClimate Institute (2023). From Rhetoric to Reality: Investigating Financial Institutions' Net Zero. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/from-rhetoric-to-reality-investigating-financial-institutions-net-zero

Chicago

NewClimate Institute. From Rhetoric to Reality: Investigating Financial Institutions' Net Zero. 2023. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/from-rhetoric-to-reality-investigating-financial-institutions-net-zero.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=NewClimate Institute |title=From Rhetoric to Reality: Investigating Financial Institutions' Net Zero |date=18 September 2023 |url=http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/from-rhetoric-to-reality-investigating-financial-institutions-net-zero |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{newclimateinstitute2023from, author = {{NewClimate Institute}}, title = {{From Rhetoric to Reality: Investigating Financial Institutions' Net Zero}}, institution = {NewClimate Institute}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/from-rhetoric-to-reality-investigating-financial-institutions-net-zero}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }