This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
In the lead-up to Inauguration Day, all six of the United States’ largest banks backed away from a United Nations–sponsored climate initiative amid attacks from conservative lawmakers and regulators.
Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo left the Net Zero Banking Alliance between December and January in what was perceived to be a concession to right-wing criticism of so-called ESG—decisionmaking driven by environmental, social, and corporate governance considerations. Nineteen Republican attorneys general had issued “Wired - Science