Wells Fargo set a goal on March 8 to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions—including its financed emissions—by 2050.

Following the 2015 Paris Agreement, many countries and companies around the globe have made similar commitments to combat climate change by reducing emissions with hopes of limiting global warming to 1.5 C above pre-industrial norms. Other U.S. banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have made net-zero pledges within the past year as well.

“Climate change is one of the most urgent environmental and social issues of our time, and Wells Fargo is committed to aligning our activities to support the goals of the Paris Agreement and to helping transition to a net-zero carbon economy,” Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf said in a statement.

Wells Fargo, which has an energy and power group within its corporate and investment bank, has over four decades of experience in the energy industry, according to its website. The bank said it works with companies across upstream oil and gas, midstream, downstream and energy services plus power, utilities and renewables.

As part of its net-zero commitment, Wells Fargo said it will also deploy $500 billion in sustainable financing by 2030, which includes supporting “science-based research on low-carbon solutions” and advocating for policies that enable client transitions.

“The risks of not taking action are too great to ignore, and collective action is needed to avoid the significant impact on our most vulnerable communities,” Scharf added in his statement. “We have a responsibility to help find solutions and are committed to deploying our resources and working closely with our clients in this transition.”

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In its release on March 8, Wells Fargo outlined five areas of focus of its net-zero ambitions:

Setting a goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050

  • Net-zero goal includes Scopes 1, 2, and 3 financed emissions.
  • Wells Fargo achieved carbon neutrality in its operations (Scopes 1 and 2) in 2019.

Committing to disclose the company’s financed emissions measurement approach and provide more robust emissions data

  • Disclose its approach to measuring Scope 3 financed emissions within a year.
  • Enhance transparency and disclose financed emissions for select carbon-intensive portfolios—including the oil and gas sectors, and power sector—no later than the end of 2022.
  • Expand disclosures to eventually include all financed emissions as sufficiently reliable data becomes available.

Setting interim emission reduction targets for select carbon-intensive portfolios, including oil and gas, and power

  • Set and disclose interim targets for select carbon-intensive portfolios—including the oil and gas sectors, and power sector—no later than the end of 2022.
  • Set and disclose targets for additional sectors within a reasonable time after disclosing financed emissions for those sectors.

Establishing an Institute for Sustainable Finance

  • Establish an institute that will work across the enterprise to support clients in their climate transitions.
  • Deploy an additional $500 billion in sustainable finance by 2030, building on the $157 billion provided since 2012.
  • Support clients’ efforts to quantify their emissions.
  • Support science-based research to aid clients in their low-carbon transitions.
  • Advocate for policy initiatives that support clients’ low-carbon transitions as well as those that advance the U.S. meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.
  • Work to support communities as they prepare for and adapt to increasing weather-related impacts with a focus on low- and moderate-income and other vulnerable communities that are being disproportionally impacted by climate change.

Integrating climate considerations into Risk Management Framework

  • Integrate climate considerations into the company’s Risk Management Framework, eventually utilizing sufficiently reliable data as it becomes available, and use client carbon transition plans in our decision-making processes.

Wells Fargo has approximately $1.9 trillion in assets and serves one in three U.S. households and more than 10% of all middle market companies in the U.S. Based in San Francisco, the company provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through four operating segments.

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