MACQUARIE Bank has become the first Australian bank to follow its counterparts in the United States and withdraw from a coalition designed to coordinate them on their net zero emissions targets.

Earlier this year, the six big American banks – JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citi, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley – announced they were moving away from the Net Zero Banking Alliance.

Their moves came off the back of a letter they received from a group of State attorney generals raising legal concerns about the banks working together to restrict finance.

Another factor playing out in net zero targets is the return of US president Donald Trump, who promptly removed America’s signature from the Paris Agreement when he was inaugurated.

In Australia, there has also been pressure on the banks to withdraw from the alliance – with Coalition MPs recently calling on Australian banks to follow. Commonwealth, National Australia Bank, Westpac, ANZ and Bank of Queensland are still signed on to the alliance along with European-based agricultural bank Rabobank.

There has been some speculation that Macquarie is moving away from its net zero target and consequently the alliance.

In making the announced the bank was withdrawing this week, the company said while it had invested a lot in renewable energy and other climate solutions, it recognised the need for carbon intensive industries.

“We also believe that the transition must be managed, orderly and just, which is why we have continued to support carbon intensive industries to reduce their emissions and continue to work with oil and gas companies, in recognition that much of the world will depend on carbon-intensive industries for a period as mitigation solutions are implemented,” the company said.

“The Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) helped develop global frameworks and assisted member banks as they established their initial decarbonisation plans. With those building blocks now in place, like many peers Macquarie will no longer be a member of NZBA, as we focus on updating and delivering our plans and reporting in line with regulatory requirements.”

Macquarie said the principals of its net zero target continue to guide activities, including:

• Investing in climate mitigation, supporting the deployment of renewables at scale and newer technologies that are critical to the transition, including batteries, hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel and solutions to reduce emissions across agriculture, waste, transportation and real estate.
• Investing in adaptation approaches to build the resilience of essential infrastructure to existing climate change impacts.
• Supporting our portfolio companies in developing and implementing net zero plans.
• Supporting our clients as the leading global advisor on renewable energy transactions.
• Providing critical risk and capital solutions to commodity and energy suppliers, helping customers with compliance and voluntary carbon markets, and supporting the scaling-up of clean fuels and carbon capture and storage.