Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ)

Environmentalists accused GFANZ of exploiting loopholes and “greenwashing” in 2022 by allowing member banks to invest unlimited amounts in coal power. According to The Guardian, members of the coalition were allowed to invest in new coal projects until 2023 and were able to maintain existing investments in conventional fuels beyond that. ³

Background

The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero is an environmental, social, governance investment umbrella group of financial institutions that are part of various net-zero coalitions. GFANZ was launched by Mark Carney, then the United Nations (UN) special envoy on climate action and finance, alongside the UN’s Race to Zero campaign at the Conference of the Parties 26 (COP26) in 2021. ^{1 4}

The organization was created to support efforts within the financial services sector that aim to achieve the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement, which set long-term goals towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, arresting global temperature increase, and providing financial support to developing countries to “mitigate climate change.” ^{1 2}

Structure

The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero states in its 2024 progress report that it had more than 700 members from various net-zero networks in its coalition, including members and signatories of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, as well as the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, and the Net-Zero Banking Alliance. GFANZ membership also includes 80 percent of the Global Systemically Important Banks. ⁵

Other net-zero alliances that are part of GFANZ, according to the 2024 progress report, include the Net Zero Financial Service Providers Alliance, the Net Zero Investment Consultants Initiative, Paris Aligned Asset Owners, and the Venture Climate Alliance. ⁵

The organization announced the launch of a major restructuring in 2025. This included a shift towards open participation to “any financial institution working to mobilize capital and lower the barriers to financing energy transition,” rather than exclusively those that are a part of a net-zero alliance affiliated with GFANZ. ⁶

Leadership

Mark Carney is the founder of Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, as well as its former chair. As of 2026, he was the Prime Minister of Canada and had previously served as the Governor of the Bank of England and the Governor of the Bank of Canada. Carney is also a former United Nations special envoy for climate action and finance. ⁷

As of 2026, former New York City Mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg is chair of GFANZ, while former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair Mary Schapiro serves as vice-chair. ¹ Schapiro is also the vice chair of global public policy at Bloomberg L.P. and special advisor to Bloomberg. ⁸

Environmentalist Criticism

John Howell of GreenBiz has questioned the organization and strategy of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. According to Howell, GFANZ and the United Nations lack a clear definition of global “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions, noting that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said, “there is a deficit of credibility and a surplus of confusion over emissions reductions and net zero targets.” ⁹

Chris Hohn of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation accused GFANZ of “greenwashing,” or giving an environmental public relations boost to investment funds without any genuine commitment to environmental values. Hohn has stated that only government regulation can effectively combat climate change, as opposed to GFANZ’s private initiative. ¹⁰

GFANZ was accused of exploiting loopholes and “greenwashing” in 2022 by allowing member banks to invest unlimited amounts in coal power. According to The Guardian, members of the coalition were allowed to invest in new coal projects until 2023 and were able to maintain existing investments in fossil fuels beyond that. ³

Despite this, Mary Schapiro, vice-chair of GFANZ, told The Guardian that she believes there “is no excuse for new investment in new coal,” adding that “existing coal capacity needs to be phased down or out.” ³

The organization’s first progress report, released in 2021, stated that all members must align with the criteria of Race to Zero, a United Nations campaign that works with companies, healthcare institutions, educational institutions, and cities to help achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. ^{11 12}

Its second progress report, released in October 2022, had no requirements for its members relating to Race to Zero. A senior analyst at Reclaim Finance, an environmentalist research and pressure organization that prioritizes financial impacts on the environment, stated that GFANZ was “quiet quitting the Race to Zero,” and adding that the organization was “giving in” to “Wall Street members” who had threatened to leave the alliance if said members had to “pull back on their finance for fossil fuels.” ¹¹