Statement from NYC Comptroller Brad Lander Condemning the Withdrawal of JPMorgan and BlackRock from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance...

Statement from NYC Comptroller Brad Lander Condemning the Withdrawal of JPMorgan and BlackRock from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, as Los Angeles is Burning

New York, NY - New York City Comptroller Brad Lander responded to the withdrawal by JPMorgan from the UN-convened Net-Zero Banking Alliance and BlackRock from the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative. These two global financial institutions previously played an important role in aligning their investment strategies and the broader financial sector with the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 by setting clear and actionable commitments to address climate change.

Comptroller Brad Lander issued the following statement:

"BlackRock and JPMorgan are fiddling while Los Angeles burns. Their shortsighted, weak-kneed decisions to exit the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative and Net-Zero Banking Alliance deny the reality - which their leaders know well, and which is tragically right before our eyes - that climate risk is financial risk. The devastating Los Angeles wildfires are just the latest overwhelming evidence that climate change is wreaking havoc on our planet, our portfolios, and the economy.

"BlackRock and JPMorgan join peers in a stark betrayal of the responsibility that they have in addressing the climate crisis. By absconding from their responsibilities to combat climate change, these financial institutions are yielding to the authoritarian tone set by the incoming Trump Administration. They are, in essence, becoming science and financial reality deniers."

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