The NZBA: More Talk, Still No Action

The author argues that the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) is a 'glossy initiative' that prioritizes image over action. While the author welcomes the commitment to use low-overshoot decarbonisation scenarios and a conservative approach to negative emissions technologies, they highlight critical flaws: a three-year window until 2024 for banks to publish emissions reduction plans and the absence of explicit requirements to end coal financing or stop funding fossil fuel expansion. The text notes that 15 of the largest banks in the NZBA have provided US$ 1.2 trillion to fossil fuels since 2016, specifically citing Barclays and BNP Paribas. The author concludes that net-zero targets for 2050 are insufficient without immediate measures to phase out fossil fuel financing.

• The Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) allows its member banks until 2024 to establish and publish plans for meeting emissions reduction targets for 2030 and 2050, which the author views as an unacceptable delay given the climate emergency.
• The NZBA does not require member banks to make explicit commitments to immediately stop financing fossil fuels or to end coal financing.
• Fifteen of the largest banks that joined the NZBA have provided US$ 1.2 trillion in fossil fuel financing since 2016, with Barclays identified as Europe's largest fossil fuel financier in that period and BNP Paribas as the bank with the largest increase in fossil finance last year.
• The author acknowledges a positive aspect of the NZBA: the commitment to use no/low overshoot decarbonisation scenarios and a conservative reliance on negative emissions technologies.

APA

admin (2021). The NZBA: More Talk, Still No Action. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2021/04/23/the-nzba-more-talk-still-no-action/

Chicago

admin. The NZBA: More Talk, Still No Action. Reclaim Finance, 2021. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2021/04/23/the-nzba-more-talk-still-no-action/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=admin |title=The NZBA: More Talk, Still No Action |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=23 April 2021 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2021/04/23/the-nzba-more-talk-still-no-action/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{admin2021nzba, author = {admin}, title = {{The NZBA: More Talk, Still No Action}}, publisher = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2021/04/23/the-nzba-more-talk-still-no-action/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }