Wells Fargo has abandoned its commitment to achieve net-zero financed emissions across its entire lending and investment portfolio by 2050, the United States bank confirmed in a statement dated 28 February 2025. The move makes it the first major US bank to drop its financed-emissions targets, two months after it and other large US banks left the Net-Zero Banking Alliance.
Alongside the flagship 2050 net-zero target, Wells Fargo also discontinued the 2030 sector-specific emission reduction goals it had previously set for oil and gas, power generation, aviation, steel, and automotive lending.
SUSTAINABLE FINANCE GOAL REMAINS IN PLACE
Despite withdrawing the emissions-based commitments, Wells Fargo said it would maintain its goal of deploying five hundred billion dollars in sustainable finance. The bank disclosed that it had already channelled one hundred and seventy-eight billion dollars towards that objective between 2021 and 2023.
The bank confirmed it would also retain operational emissions targets, which cover its own operations, such as Scope 1 and 2 emissions, energy use, waste and water rather than the emissions associated with the companies and projects it finances.
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