In October of 2022, nineteen states launched an investigation into JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs’ involvement in the United Nations Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Banks in this alliance committed to aligning their lending and investment portfolios with a net-zero emissions goal by 2050 or sooner.

The attorney generals of these states said it was against the United States’ best interests for these banks to step away from the fossil fuel industry, with the Attorney General of Texas calling the banks “corporate activists.”

But according to a joint report from Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, and others, these companies are far from being “corporate activists” and rank high in fossil fuel financing. In this “Tip of the Iceberg” episode host Ethan Brown examines the climate ambitions of the global banking community and the banks’ decisions to join the NZBA.

For more information, see the companion essay here.