Targeting Net Zero: The need to redesign bank decarbonization targets

Reclaim Finance analyzed the decarbonization targets of 30 major banks, finding that most are overly complex and fail to link target achievement with actual corporate emission reductions. The report specifically criticizes the use of financed or facilitated emissions, which can be influenced by corporate value changes rather than emissions, and recommends shifting toward targets based on reduced finance for fossil fuel companies, physical intensity for industrial sectors, and absolute emissions without value-based attribution.

• The current landscape of bank decarbonization targets is characterized by excessive complexity and a lack of transparency, with most targets failing to establish a direct connection between their achievement and the actual reduction of corporate emissions.
• A significant majority of analyzed banks utilize financed or facilitated emissions targets, particularly for the oil and gas sector; however, these metrics are flawed because they are as susceptible to changes in corporate value as they are to changes in emissions.
• Out of 13 different types of targets employed by the 30 banks studied, only two are considered likely to be effective in promoting decarbonization.

APA

Martin, L. (2024). Targeting Net Zero: The need to redesign bank decarbonization targets. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/09/19/targeting-net-zero-the-need-to-redesign-bank-decarbonization-targets/

Chicago

Martin, Léo. Targeting Net Zero: The need to redesign bank decarbonization targets. Reclaim Finance, 2024. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/09/19/targeting-net-zero-the-need-to-redesign-bank-decarbonization-targets/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Martin |first1=Léo |title=Targeting Net Zero: The need to redesign bank decarbonization targets |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=19 September 2024 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/09/19/targeting-net-zero-the-need-to-redesign-bank-decarbonization-targets/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{martin2024targeting, author = {Martin, Léo}, title = {{Targeting Net Zero: The need to redesign bank decarbonization targets}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/09/19/targeting-net-zero-the-need-to-redesign-bank-decarbonization-targets/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }