UBS Now Delays Net Zero Targets by 10 Years

UBS has announced that it has postponedits goal of achieving net zero emissions across its operations by 10 years , moving the deadline from 2025 to 2035. This was disclosed in the 2024 sustainability report and the decision was mainly influenced by the recent acquisition of Credit Suisse .

The bank also decided to withdraw a target for its Asset Management division which called for 20% of assets under management (AUM) to be aligned with the goal of net zero emissions by 2030.

UBS said it was revising that target due to the integration of Credit Suisse

UBS’s announcement comes at a time when many global banks are reviewing or withdrawing their climate commitments, but UBS’s changes appear less drastic than others, such as HSBC, which pushed back its goal of net-zero emissions from its operations and supply chain by 20 years, setting the new deadline for 2050.

In addition, many banks in the US, Canada and elsewhere have left the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), and Wells Fargo has completely abandoned its goal of net-zero financed emissions by 2050.

However, UBS confirmed that it will remain committed to the NZBA and reiterated its focus on decarbonisation. For 2030, the bank has set targets for specific sectors, including residential and commercial real estate in Switzerland, power generation, iron and steel, cement and fossil fuels. UBS also explained that the change in the net zero target date is due to the expansion of its corporate real estate portfolio, due to the acquisition of Credit Suisse, which has redefined its targets set by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

In the report, UBS changed the wording of its climate commitments for 2023

Previously, the bank said that “by 2050, the ambition is to achieve net zero emissions across Scope 1, 2 and selected Scope 3 businesses.” Now, UBS has updated the statement to say that “by 2050, the global economy aims to move to net zero emissions . For example, across our Scope 1 and 2 operations, UBS plans to reach net zero emissions by 2035, well ahead of 2050,” and has reworded its Scope 3 target to focus on aligning specific sectors with decarbonization pathways.

In addition to the new net-zero target, UBS has set an interim target of reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 57% by 2030, compared to 2023 levels. The bank has also committed to sourcing 100% of its electricity from eligible renewable sources by 2026. For its 2035 net-zero target, UBS aims to reduce emissions by at least 90% before neutralising any remaining emissions through the purchase of carbon removal credits, while the 2030 interim target does not involve the use of carbon removal credits.

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(Featured image by Markus Spiske via Unsplash)

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