Barclays has become the latest major bank to withdraw from the United Nations-convened Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), joining a string of high-profile departures by international lenders and raising questions about the future of coordinated climate action in the banking sector.

The bank announced its decision on Friday, citing the exodus of major members as a key factor. “After consideration, we have decided to withdraw from the Net Zero Banking Alliance. With the departure of most of the global banks, the organisation no longer has the membership to support our transition,” Barclays said in a statement on its website.

Barclays’ withdrawal follows similar moves by HSBC and several leading Wall Street banks, including JP Morgan, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. The NZBA, which was established to guide banks in aligning their lending and investment activities with net zero emissions targets by 2050, has seen its membership dwindle in recent months.

Barclays said it remains committed to its climate goals, including its ambition to be a net zero bank by 2050 and its targets to mobilise $1 trillion in sustainable and transition financing. “Our targets to mobilise $1 trillion of Sustainable and Transition Financing and for financed emissions remain unchanged. We continue to work with our clients on their transition, finance the transition and scale climate tech, while helping to ensure energy security for our customers and clients,” the bank stated.

The departures from the NZBA come at a time of increased political scrutiny and shifting regulatory attitudes towards environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies. The return of Donald Trump to the White House has been cited as a catalyst for a broader rollback of climate commitments in the financial sector, with US and UK regulators softening their approaches to ESG and diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

A spokesperson for the NZBA said the alliance “remains focused on delivering on the future vision overwhelmingly endorsed by member banks a few months ago. It is supporting its members to lead on climate by addressing the barriers preventing their clients from investing in the net-zero transition.”

Despite the withdrawals, Barclays reported that it generated approximately half a billion pounds in revenues from sustainable and transition-related activity in 2024.

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