JPMorgan, State Street leave major investor climate group

The investment arms of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and State Street are pulling out of the Climate Investing Initiative, drawing cheers from Republican lawmakers.

“JPMorgan Asset Management and State Street Global Advisors have withdrawn from this effort,” a spokesperson for the group Climate Action 100+ confirmed in an email.

The spokesperson also said BlackRock has transferred participation from its U.S. division to BlackRock International.

The change comes after the organization announced last summer the next step in its call for participants to “move from words to action” by “taking action to proactively reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain.” It was done later.

JPMorgan spokeswoman Kristen Chambers said in an email that the exit is in recognition of the “significant investment in our investment management team” and JPMorgan’s development of its own “climate risk engagement framework.”

Chambers said the company believes “climate change continues to pose significant economic risks and opportunities for our clients, and our analysts continue to factor this into our engagement with companies around the world.” He added that

In a memo shared with The Hill, BlackRock said it was transferring its membership as a result of the coalition’s new goals around decarbonization.

“In our judgment, making this new commitment across our assets under management would trigger legal considerations, particularly in the United States,” the memo said.

State Street Global Advisors Spokesperson told Reuters The group’s new priorities have made it difficult for the company to act independently.

Many Republican members of Congress, who oppose climate change and promoting ethical considerations in investments, welcomed his resignation.

“Today’s decision by JPMorgan and State Street is a huge victory for freedom and the American economy, and encourages more financial institutions to follow suit and avoid collusion,” said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) in a written statement. “I hope that they will abandon their ESG actions.”

Nevertheless, a spokesperson for Climate Action 100+ emphasized continued “strong interest” in the initiative.

“More than 700 investors are committed to managing climate risk and preserving shareholder value through their participation in this initiative,” the group said. “We had more than 60 new signatories last fall alone, and we expect continued strong interest.”

Departures are as follows news Earlier this month, Bank of America appeared to be scaling back its efforts to address climate change. The bank had previously said it would not finance Arctic drilling or new coal projects. Currently says: Funding for such projects would be reviewed in stages.

“We employ a risk-based process for customer transactions. Certain customer relationships and transactions involving high risk continue to undergo enhanced due diligence processes, including senior-level risk reviews. ,” a Bank of America spokesperson said in an email.