Bank of Nova Scotia on Monday joined some of Canada’s biggest lenders to walk away from a global banking sector climate coalition, a move that followed the withdrawal led by six major U.S. banks.
The bank’s exit from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance follows a raft of similar announcements on Friday by TD Bank, Bank of Montreal, National Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).
“We remain committed to delivering our Climate Transition Plan, and will continue to finance the transition and support our clients in implementing their sustainability strategies—this is the most important role that we can play,” said a Scotiabank spokesperson.
The move coincides with Donald Trump’s return to the White House for the second time on Monday. He has been critical of efforts by governments to prescribe climate-change policies.
So far, the big U.S. banks that have quit the Net-Zero Banking Alliance initiative are Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citi, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan.
(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru and Nivedita Balu in Toronto; Editing by Anna Driver)
