Dear New Yorkers,

New York City pension funds are putting big banks on watch.

Last week, we filed shareholder resolutions calling on the biggest banks in North America to disclose and report their energy-supply financing ratios: Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Royal Bank of Canada.

Specifically, these resolutions call on the banks to disclose their energy-supply financing ratios – the ratio of lending on clean energy to lending on fossil fuels.

Right now, these banks are lending almost 2x as much on fossil fuels. To keep global warming from blowing past 2.0 Celsius, they need to move rapidly to 4x as much on clean energy and stop financing fossil fuel expansion. As long-term investors, we’re demanding that these banks report regularly and transparently on their energy transition so we can hold them accountable.

Despite a lot of big talk, some of the largest financial institutions have made very little progress in the energy finance transition in the last few years. Since the Paris climate summit, over $1 trillion has been lent on new fossil fuel projects. The New York Times just reported on how Bank of America is already backtracking on its commitment to stop financing coal.

NYC’s public pension funds, managed by my office, are a long-term promise to retirees, with obligations that stretch out for decades. It’s clear that the climate crisis puts the investments of thousands of people at risk, so we’re holding our asset managers and portfolio companies accountable for doing their share to reduce fossil fuel emissions.

That’s also why we’re taking the boldest climate action of any public pension fund in the U.S. We divested from fossil fuels and adopted an ambitious and highly specific plan to reach net zero emissions. And we’re scaling up investments in climate solutions, now over $10 billion.

As long-term investors exposed to climate risk, we can’t just take Bank of America or JPMorgan’s word that they’re doing their part in the energy transition. Transparent reporting of green energy ratios is key.

Banks just aren’t living up to their net-zero commitments right now – and that must change. Our planet, our economy, and our investment portfolios are all at stake.

Thanks,

Brad