JPMorgan Chase Commits to Climate-Aligned Finance

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) commends JPMorgan Chase for announcing today that it will shape its core business to align with the Paris Agreement on climate change. JPMorgan Chase is one of the founding partners of RMI’s Center for Climate-Aligned Finance, established earlier this year to help major financial institutions implement the ambitious but challenging transition to full climate alignment of their portfolios.

JPMorgan Chase, the world’s largest private bank by market capitalization, is the latest to announce its intention to pursue climate alignment. It joins Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and other private financial institutions representing over $20 trillion in assets under management that have committed to align their portfolios with the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. JPMorgan Chase’s emphasis is on partnering with carbon-intensive but economically vital sectors, such as oil & gas, automotive, and power utilities. This approach acknowledges that financial institutions cannot simply manage climate risk but must proactively work with their clients to transition the global economy to net zero emissions by 2050.

By defining its ultimate goal of alignment with the Paris Agreement, JPMorgan Chase and others are at the vanguard of a major development within the financial sector. In practice, steering large mainstream financial institutions toward net-zero emissions requires navigating major challenges. RMI’s Center for Climate-Aligned Finance serves as an engine room in which financial institutions and experts come together to identify ambitious but achievable transition pathways for high-carbon industries and clarify how the financial sector can play a proactive role in supporting this transition.

“JPMorgan Chase has put partnering with its clients in carbon-intensive industries at the center of its new commitment,” said Paul Bodnar, chair of RMI’s Center for Climate-Aligned Finance. “This is a small step for a bank, but a giant leap for climate alignment. Only collective action by financial institutions, in concert with their clients, can drive progress fast enough towards a net-zero emissions global economy.”

RMI’s Center for Climate-Aligned Finance looks forward to working with JPMorgan Chase and other leading financial institutions to accelerate their decarbonization journey.

For more information, contact: info@climatealignment.org