Ditching net zero is a dangerous gamble for Japan’s megabanks

Eri Watanabe is a senior Japan energy finance campaigner at Market Forces, a clean energy finance advocacy group working across Asia and Australia.

Japan’s two largest banks, MUFG and SMBC, recently followed the biggest U.S. and Canadian banks in withdrawing from the United Nations-led Net-Zero Banking Alliance. These moves put global banking and investor climate initiatives under threat and place secure economies at risk. Japan’s major banks have a duty to hold firm on their net-zero commitments and accelerate efforts to minimize climate risk.