On Aug. 27, the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) announced that it is suspending operations, as a number of large banks have exited the group over the last several months.

NZBA has said its remaining members will vote to determine whether it should remain a member-based group or transition to an organization that provides guidance to the banking industry on decarbonization. According to the CBC, “The NZBA did not provide any other details on what that framework would look like. A spokesperson for the alliance said those details are still being worked out.”

The NZBA is a United Nations environment program that describes itself as “global member-led initiative supporting banks to lead on climate mitigation in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.” 

The six largest U.S. banks and four of Canada’s largest banks all left NZBA in January 2025. Two of Britain’s three biggest banks followed, leaving NZBA on July 11 and Aug. 1, respectively. UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank, left NZBA on Aug. 7. 

In our Aug. 20 edition of Economy and Society, we covered reports that more European banks were considering leaving the NZBA. Click here for more.

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