When a group of climate activists met with Wells Fargo’s chief sustainability officer last November, they were prepared for plenty of promises and talking points. But they came away even more disappointed than usual in the bank’s level of commitment to its net-zero goals.
The bank is the world’s fifth-biggest financier of fossil fuel production, as of 2023, with nearly $300 billion in investments in oil and gas and coal since the Paris Agreement in 2016. Wells Fargo also has been spotlighted for its limited investment in renewable energy compared to its competitors and was one of the last major banks to commit to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
