Major US investment bank joins European peers with net-zero pledge

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7 Oct, 2020

Author Declan Harty
Theme Macroeconomics

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Morgan Stanley has committed to net-zero emissions in its lending portfolio by 2050, a move that pushes the U.S. banking sector closer to European standard-bearers and further complicates the outlook for fossil fuel emitters looking for a loan.

With $20.12 billion in commitments to energy and utility companies, the investment banking giant only accounts for a small fraction of the fossil-fuel lending that the six largest U.S. banks do today — see our Chart of the Week for the breakdown. However, its commitment represents the latest step from the banking industry to back away from the heaviest fossil-fuel users.

"Fossil fuels do not have a future," said C.B. Bhattacharya, a professor of sustainability and ethics at the University of Pittsburgh. "Even banks, which are perennially slow to adapt to these things, they have woken up and have realized that it's now or never."

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