India, Jan. 31 -- It is widely agreed that the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Azerbaijan, informally dubbed the 'finance COP', was a failure. It did not ensure that developing countries secured a fair deal on climate finance. Barely three months later, six of the largest American banks, which are also deeply entangled in fossil fuel financing, have formally exited the UN-backed Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA).

As of January 6, 2025, Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley have left the alliance. This follows the departure of Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs in December 2024. Most recently, JP Morgan has also withdrawn from the alliance. Effectively, only three Amer...