November 21, 2021
Today, President Biden renominated Jerome Powell to continue in his current role as Chair of the Federal Reserve. He also nominated Lael Brainard, who currently serves on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, as Vice Chair.
Sustainable Finance
Sustainable Finance
The Sierra Club's Sustainable Finance campaign (formerly the Fossil-Free Finance campaign) is working to combat the climate crisis and protect our economy by moving the financial sector to stop the flow of money to fossil fuels, accelerate funding for clean energy, and hold corporate polluters accountable for their impacts.
How is the financial sector connected to climate change?
The fossil fuel industry, which is the biggest driver of the climate crisis, is enabled by money and support from investors and banks. If these financial institutions stop providing funds to companies trying to build coal plants, pipelines, fracking sites, and more, these dirty projects can be stopped. Investors and banks can also be a powerful force for accelerating the transition to clean energy and other climate solutions.
Fighting climate change is not only the right thing to do for our planet and people, it is also a financial necessity. The risks are increasingly clear and alarming: climate change will cause massive damage to our entire economy and millions of people’s retirement savings — unless bold action is taken now. Financial institutions need to put our long-term savings over the short-term greed of corporate polluters.
If we don’t act fast, climate change could lead to $38 trillion in annual losses to the global economy and 40% lost in global stock values by mid-century.
How can finance help fight climate change?
Financial institutions have different roles to play that can help drive climate action and protect our economy. Major investors and banks need to redirect trillions of dollars from fossil fuels to clean energy. And investors must also use their power as shareholders to change the dirty practices of big polluters, and hold corporate leadership accountable when they refuse to act.
To achieve our global climate goals, investments in clean energy supply this decade need to be 4 times as much as investments in fossil fuels. But major US banks and investors are still financing more fossil fuels than clean energy, lagging far behind where they need to be.
$705B
fossil fuel financing in 2023
$347B
fossil fuel expansion financing
US banks are still stalling on climate action
Banks are still betting big on fossil fuels. Since 2016, the world’s 60 largest banks have poured $6.9 trillion into fossil fuel companies around the globe. Read more.
Victory!
Thanks to leadership by Indigenous People, Sierra Club members, and investors around the world, dozens of global banks — including nearly every major US bank — have committed to not fund disastrous drilling projects in the Arctic. Our voices and actions can hold financial institutions accountable.
What we are doing
Activists and pension beneficiaries attend a board meeting for the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) in September 2024. Photo by Jakob Evans
The Sierra Club is part of the growing movement working to transform the financial sector’s impact on the climate crisis and to create a safer, more prosperous future for all. We’re especially focused on three key pillars:
Public Pensions: In the US, there are trillions of dollars in pension funds that must support the long-term interests of public workers and retirees. But these funds continue to pour billions into fossil fuels and don’t hold corporate polluters accountable. Sierra Club is working nationwide to get public pensions to demonstrate climate leadership through their investments and corporate engagement — including with the big Wall Street firms that serve them.
Wall Street: The US is home to many of the world’s largest financial firms. Major banks, such as JPMorgan Chase and Citi, and asset managers, such as BlackRock and Vanguard, are the biggest financiers of fossil fuels on the planet. Sierra Club is working to ensure that their clients, shareholders, and regulators are doing everything they can to hold Wall Street accountable.
Financial Regulators: Our federal government is responsible for protecting the economy, financial markets, and people's savings — all of which are increasingly threatened by the climate crisis. Sierra Club is urging US financial regulators to stop Wall Street’s risky practices and deceptive greenwashing, and to ensure that everyone can choose sustainable investments.
What you can do
Tell Public Pensions: No new money for the world's dirtiest fossil fuel companies!
Engaging public pension funds to commit to not buy newly issued bonds or shares from companies expanding fossil fuels.
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Press Releases
November 17, 2021
This morning, Dr. Saule Omarova will face the Senate Banking Committee for a hearing on her nomination to be Comptroller of the Currency.
November 3, 2021
Today, Morgan Stanley announced new 2030 targets to reach its commitment to net-zero financed emissions by 2050. Last year, Morgan Stanley became the first major US bank to make a net-zero by 2050 commitment and it is one of the first major US banks…
November 2, 2021
Last night, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) announced that more than 450 financial firms with $130 trillion in assets have committed to net zero targets over the next three decades.
October 26, 2021
Goldman Sachs announced yesterday that it has joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), making it the last of the six major U.S. banks to join.