JP Morgan Chase Sets Lukewarm Emissions Reduction Targets in New Sectors

NEW YORK — JP Morgan Chase, the largest bank in the US and the world’s biggest funder of fossil fuels, has published a slew of new emissions reduction targets, covering high-emitting sectors including aviation, steel, and cement. Last year, the bank released its first set of emissions reduction goals, which covered oil and gas, power generation, and auto manufacturing. 

In response to the news, the Sierra Club’s Fossil-Free Finance campaign said that while the bank's new targets show some progress, they are not ambitious enough to meet global climate goals. The key weakness with the new targets — as with Chase’s first set of emissions targets — is that they are based on a reduction in emissions intensity. Intensity targets still allow for an overall increase in financed emissions, and are therefore fundamentally incompatible with global climate goals.

Chase's three new targets include: 

• Iron & Steel: 31% reduction by 2030 – from a 2020 baseline – in carbon intensity. This is focused on crude steel production.
• Cement: 29% reduction by 2030 – from a 2020 baseline – in carbon intensity. This is focused on cement manufacturing.
• Aviation: 35% reduction by 2030 – from a 2021 baseline – in carbon intensity. This is focused on revenue-generating passenger service and belly freight operations of airline companies, specifically from combustion of fuels during flight.

In response to the announcement, Adele Shraiman, Campaign Representative with the Sierra Club’s Fossil-Free Finance campaign, issued the following statement:

“Setting interim climate targets aimed at some of the most polluting sectors shows JP Morgan Chase is taking a step in the right direction. But with this new set of targets, Chase is digging in its heels on an intensity-based approach. The fact remains that in order to meet our global climate goals, banks will need to reduce their overall financed emissions. Chase’s continued reliance on intensity targets — which allow for ever-increasing greenhouse gas emissions — is fundamentally misaligned with a 1.5 degree future.” 

BACKGROUND

In November 2022, the Sierra Club’s Fossil-Free Finance campaign released a report analyzing the interim 2030 targets and exclusion policies of the six major U.S. banks, including JP Morgan Chase, revealing that the banks’ commitments fall far short of what’s needed to meet global climate goals. The report also establishes recommendations for credible and robust targets and policies. 

Also in November 2022, UK-based environmental advocacy organization ShareAction released a report analyzing the net-zero commitments of the 43 largest banks in the Net Zero Banking Alliance, and similarly found that the targets are inadequate and risk compromising the Alliance’s commitment to net zero by 2050.

In September 2022, a global coalition of advocacy nonprofits including Sierra Club wrote to the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI) and the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) steering committee, urging NZBA members to restrict their financing of fossil fuel projects, including coal, in order to align with the recently strengthened Race to Zero criteria, which were updated in June.