GFanz dropping its Race to Zero requirement for members a ‘reality check’

DROPPING the mandate that members of the world’s largest coalition of financial institutions had to align with the Race to Zero criteria was a “reality check” exercise.

Despite the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (Gfanz) — an umbrella organisation housing seven net-zero alliances in the financial sector — having regular monthly calls with representatives from the United Nations-backed global campaign, there was still a breakdown in communication, where banks found themselves unable to align with the Race to Zero’s updated entry criteria due to antitrust concerns, said Yuki Yasui, director of the Gfanz Asia-Pacific network. 

Speaking to The Business Times (BT) on the sidelines of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, Yasui said that this episode highlighted some vulnerability in the governance between the net-zero alliances and the Race to Zero campaign.