Statement from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander Condemning Wells Fargo’s Troubling Decision to Backtrack on Crucial Climate Targets

New York, NY – “Last week Wells Fargo made their short-sighted view of the economic impact of the climate crisis abundantly clear by abandoning their net zero targets and undermining the urgent need for corporate accountability in addressing climate change.

“Wells Fargo disingenuously claims that the conditions necessary to facilitate a just transition are outside of its control, conveniently ignoring the bank’s own role in proactively pouring $55 billion into fossil fuel projects. The destructive impacts of climate change threaten trillions of dollars in global GDP, but instead of being part of the solution to combat the climate crisis, the bank is capitulating to the right’s anti-climate agenda.

“This announcement makes it clear that Wells Fargo’s so-called ‘climate strategy’ has always been hot air. Shareholders have significant concerns about the bank’s long-term strategies when it just abandons its commitments, sacrificing commonsense climate action to political expediency.”

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