Bankof America – Bank of America criticized for lack of action in zero financed emissions release

Two environmental groups criticized Bank of America for being “all talk and no action” in an emissions announcement released Thursday by the company.

In a press announcement, Bank of America committed to net zero financed emissions by 2050. “It is critical that we leverage all parts of our business – beyond our direct operations – in order to accelerate the transition to a net zero global economy,” said Bank of America Vice Chairman, Anne Finucane in the release.

Finucane leads the company’s environmental, social and governance, sustainable finance, capital deployment and public policy efforts. “We recognize that this will be no easy task, but we believe our commitment will help spur the growth of zero carbon energy and power solutions, sustainable transportation and agriculture, and other sector transformations, while generating more climate resilient and equitable opportunities for our future,” Finucane said in the release.

In a rebuttal statement by Amazon Watch and Rainforest Action Network to Bank of America, Paddy McCully, climate and energy program director at Rainforest Action Network said the financial institution’s actions are “just hot air without meaningful 2021 action,” according to a press release.

“Bank of America claimed today it is announcing ‘actions’ to meet net zero financed emissions by 2050. In reality there is no ‘action’ in its announcement at all, just an aspiration for where the bank may be in a generation’s time. 2050 commitments are just hot air without meaningful 2021 action on fossil fuels and deforestation.”

McCully said in the statement that if Bank of America wants to be taken seriously it “must stop financing new fossil fuel projects like the Line 3 and Mountain Valley pipelines which would lead to huge amounts of carbon emissions over the very decades when the bank admits these emissions need to be zeroed out.” McCully went on to say that BoA must implement a “No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation policy across all forest-risk sectors.”

Moira Birss, climate and finance director at Amazon Watch, also fired back at BoA in the rebuttal release.
“Bank of America‘s updated policy makes important acknowledgments about the need to preserve biodiversity, respect Indigenous rights, and avoid financing activities in UNESCO World Heritage sites. Yet, recent Amazon Watch research shows the bank continues to finance extractive activities like oil drilling and mining in the Amazon rainforest. Bank of America‘s policies cannot be empty rhetoric; they must result in the cessation of support for projects and companies that continue to contribute to Indigenous rights violations and destroy crucial ecosystems such as the Amazon rainforest,” said Birss in the press release.

ATM Marketplace contacted BoA for comment on the issue, but at press time, we have not yet received a response.