Wells Fargo revealed that it has dropped some of its key climate-related goals, including its target to achieve net zero financed emissions by 2050, and its sector-specific 2030 interim financed emissions targets.

The announcement, made available on the Wells Fargo’s website, marks the latest move in a series of retreats from climate finance commitments set by banks over the past few years, following closely in the wake of the exit of every major U.S. bank – including Wells Fargo – from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) since the election of Donald Trump in late 2024. Wells Fargo is the first among it’s U.S. peers to rescind its financed emissions goals, although HSBC announced last month that it has placed its interim financed emissions targets under review.

Wells Fargo set goals in 2021 to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050, including emissions attributable to financing, and subsequently introduced interim financed emissions reduction targets for the Oil & Gas, Power, Automotive, Steel and Aviation sectors.

In its update, Wells Fargo noted that at the time that it set its goals, it said that they would be dependent on external factors public policy, consumer behavior, and technology changes enabling clients to move to lower-emitting models.

In its statement, the bank said:

“Many of the conditions necessary to facilitate our clients’ transitions have not occurred.”

Wells Fargo’s announcement echoes HSBC’s reasoning in placing its financed emissions goals under review, in which it cited the “slower pace of the transition across the real economy,” in areas including climate technology, energy transition, and government policy.

Wells Fargo noted that it will maintain its other sustainability goals, including its 2050 operational net zero target, its 2030 goals to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 70%, energy usage by 50%, its waste stream by 50%, and water usage by 45%, and to meet 100% of annual purchased electricity consumption needs with new renewable sources, as well as its goal to deploy $500 billion in sustainable finance by 2030.

The bank said:

“We are adjusting our approach to focus on doing what banks do best – providing financing and expertise to help clients pursue their own objectives.”