U.S. Banks Withdraw from Net-Zero Alliance as Climate Policy Fad Collapses

It was only a few years ago when climate change alarms and green energy initiatives dominated White House agendas and corporate boardrooms. Former President Joe Biden’s policies were heavily focused on eliminating fossil fuels, with major American corporations embracing the net-zero carbon framework.

This movement during Biden’s administration aimed to phase out virtually all oil, natural gas, and coal production in favor of wind power, solar panels, and electric vehicles. The initiative was criticized as pure virtue-signaling with no practical economic benefits.

Approximately 70% of U.S. energy consumption relies on fossil fuels, while green energy sources account for only about 10%. Studies indicate such a shift would have severely damaged the American economy, resulting in millions of job losses, hundreds of billions in lost GDP, and significantly higher energy costs for households and businesses.

The plan was economically unfeasible during a period when Americans demand lower energy prices. Even if implemented, it would have had minimal impact on global emissions because China and India were expanding coal capacity at a much faster rate than the U.S. reduced its usage. Washington spent hundreds of billions of dollars on taxpayer subsidies to promote wind and solar, yet progress remained stalled—similar to widespread shutdowns across electric vehicle production facilities.

A new study co-authored by the author reveals that Wall Street has dramatically reversed course on net-zero climate policies. Six of the largest U.S. banks—JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo—have completely withdrawn from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance.

The movement once included a coalition of 140 member banks managing $75.5 trillion in assets. Now, only a few financial institutions, such as Morgan Stanley and State Street, continue to support these regulations. This shift is particularly notable given that AI and data center energy demands are projected to double or triple over the next two decades.

The U.S. possesses abundant resources: clean coal reserves exceeding 600 years and several hundred years of cheap natural gas—critical for sustaining industrial operations and residential needs. Nuclear power, which produces negligible greenhouse gases, is gaining renewed support among Americans after decades of decline.

Environmental groups continue to blame forest fires on climate change despite global fire trends showing no significant increase in recent years. Germany remains an outlier in this shift, having spent nearly $500 billion on wind turbine installations under its “Energiewende” program while reducing natural gas consumption. As a result, power costs have doubled compared to the rest of Europe and the U.S., leading to factory closures.