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America’s biggest bank has quit Mark Carney’s net zero group amid a backlash against environmentalist capitalism.
JP Morgan, which has a balance sheet of $3.8 trillion (£3 trillion), is leaving the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) after deciding to pursue its green finance agenda alone.
NZBA is a subgroup of Mr Carney’s Glasgow Financial Alliance For Net Zero (Gfanz), which the former Bank of England governor launched in 2021 to encourage banks to make clean energy loans and investments.
JP Morgan joins Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs in exiting Gfanz, delivering a blow to Mr Carney as he considers running to replace Justin Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister.
The exodus of America’s five biggest banks has been attributed to Donald Trump’s US election victory and a Republican backlash against green capitalism.
Leading Republicans have been vocal critics of climate change financial groups in recent years, claiming they have a Left-wing agenda.
Meanwhile, president-elect Donald Trump has been a vocal supporter of fossil fuels, promising to “drill, baby, drill” once he re-enters the White House later this month.
JP Morgan’s exit means there are three US lenders left in the NZBA, including Amalgamated Bank, Areti Bank and Climate First Bank.
However, about 80 banks in Europe, including Britain’s largest lenders HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest and Nationwide, remain part of the group.
The recent backlash marks a growing split between US and European financial institutions over support for climate change groups.
Several money managers left a similar group for fund managers, known as Climate Action 100+, last year, including JP Morgan’s funds division.
The world’s largest money manager, BlackRock, retained membership of Climate Action 100+ for its UK and European arm but ended it for its US business – signalling the widening gulf between America and the rest of the world on climate issues.
A JP Morgan spokesman said: “We will continue to work independently to advance the interests of our firm, our shareholders and our clients and remain focused on pragmatic solutions to help further low-carbon technologies while advancing energy security.
“We will also continue to support the banking and investment needs of our clients who are engaged in energy transition and in decarbonising different sectors of the economy.
“At this time, we plan to continue engaging with Gfanz, among others, to advance pragmatic solutions and market conditions that can help further a low-carbon and energy-secure future.”