JPMorgan announces slew of emissions reductions targets

Bloomberg

JPMorgan Chase & Co is upping its climate ambitions, announcing a slew of new emissions reductions targets for its financing to carbon-intensive businesses, including airlines and cement manufacturers.
The largest US bank said in this year’s climate report that it plans to reduce the carbon intensity of its aviation financing portfolio by 36% by 2030 from a 2021 baseline. In the same period, JPMorgan said it aims to cut the carbon intensity of funding to iron ore and steel companies by 31%, and by 29% for cement sector financings.
“This is proof that we are doing the work we need to do, setting a foundation with clients on climate and making progress on the promises we made,” said Heather Zichal, JPMorgan’s global head of sustainability, in an interview.
The latest targets follow on from the bank’s first set of emissions-reduction goals, which were announced last year and cover oil and gas, electric power and auto manufacturing. JPMorgan has been regularly criticised by environmental activists for continuing to provide vast amounts of financing to the fossil-fuel industry and for lagging behind rival banks such as HSBC Holdings Plc, which announced last week that it will no longer support new oil and gas projects.
Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chairman and chief executive officer, wrote in this year’s climate report that disruptions to the global energy system caused by Russia’s unprovoked attack of Ukraine and other economic factors are “highlighting our urgent, global need to provide energy resources securely, reliably and affordably and, at the same time, address long-term clean energy solutions and strategies to reduce our carbon footprint.” He added that “these objectives aren’t mutually exclusive. We can — and must — do both.”
JPMorgan said the six sectors covered by the bank’s 2021 and 2022 reduction targets account for the majority of global emissions. The bank’s new targets are intended to align with the International Energy Agency’s net zero by 2050 scenario. “When a bank of our size sets those targets, given our role in the economy, that matters,” Zichal said.
JPMorgan will have to do a lot of heavy lifting to achieve its goals. That’s because since the Paris climate agreement was signed at the end of 2015, the New York-based bank has
provided more finance to the
fossil-fuel industry than any other company, data compiled by Bloomberg show.