WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in writing to JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon, criticizing his company’s about-face on nearly two decades of climate and environmental commitments and raising questions about whether JPM has been misleading investors and the public.  

Over nearly two decades, JPM made several “binding commitments” on climate and environmental issues. In 2006, the company joined the Equator Principles, a set of bare minimum industry standards that help financial institutions address environmental, social, and governance risks in their work. JPM also committed to meeting the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement and the Climate Action 100+. 

However, in an April 8, 2024, letter to shareholders, Mr. Dimon reversed those commitments, writing that JPM intended to use the word ‘commitment’ much more sparingly going forward, differentiating between “aspirations we are actively striving toward and binding commitments.” In the same letter, Mr. Dimon walked back JPM’s role in addressing the climate crisis and instead called for “proper government action … [that is] not there yet.” Mr. Dimon also shared that JPM had exited key commitments already, including Climate Action 100+ and the Equator Principles.  

“Surprisingly, as the CEO of the nation’s largest bank, you appear to have lost your faith in the private sector’s ability to solve problems,” wrote the senators.  

Aside from the commitments JPM explicitly reversed, the company has a questionable record on environmental issues. The bank was the biggest financer of fossil fuel companies last year, sending nearly $15 billion to fossil fuel expansion. JPM also changed its emission reduction targets, initially set because of the bank’s commitment to the Paris Accords, making it impossible for investors to determine whether the bank is in fact reducing its fossil fuel financing. Additionally, JPM has consistently used relative reduction targets instead of absolute targets for its portfolio-financed emissions, allowing the firm to claim progress on emissions even if JPM’s absolute financed emissions have increased. 

“Your recent statements and actions indicate a retreat by JPM from the firm’s earlier pledges to help mitigate climate change. This is disappointing, raising questions about the impact of these policy changes moving forward, and about whether JPM misled investors and the public when you made these commitments,” concluded the senators.  

The lawmakers demanded that JPM provide answers about its climate and environmental commitments by July 24, 2024.  

“The recent backsliding on climate commitments, not only from JPMorgan Chase but from other Wall Street banks as well, underlines the need for regulators to take urgent action,” said Ernesto Archila, Climate and Financial Regulation Policy Director for Public Citizen. “Banks should be compelled to take a serious look at their financed emissions, and make effective and transparent plans to address the financial risks associated with climate change.” 

Read the full text of the letter. 

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