ESG Alliance for Financial Service Providers to Shut Down

Yet another initiative to curb carbon emissions announced it will cease unified operations in the wake of President Donald Trump’s 2024 election. 

The Net Zero Financial Services Providers Alliance, a group of stock exchanges, index providers, auditors, and research and data providers which sought to align the industry with a target of being net zero of carbon emissions by 2050, stated that it will reorganize, with members pursuing operations independently of the initiative. 

“Following the publication of target-setting frameworks across its functional groups, the Net Zero Financial Service Providers Alliance is reorganizing, with stock exchanges, research and data providers, index providers and auditors pursuing their activities independently of the initiative, including through integrating them into other existing forums and working groups,” the organization stated Wednesday.  

Members of the alliance included professional services firms EY, KPMG, PWC, Morningstar, MSCI, GrantThornton, Bloomberg L.P., Euronext and Deutsche Borse Group—the owner of ISS STOXX, the parent company of CIO. S&P Global left the alliance in April 2023.  

The alliance’s exchange group, which includes the London Stock Exchange Group, Euronext, Japan Exchange Group and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, among others, will continue its work with the support of the UN Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative. According to a statement from the NZFSPA, “Due to its continued growth and regular reporting, the group has matured to the point where it will benefit from a more exchange-focused structure and activities.” 

Founded in 2021 as part of the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment, the alliance is one of multiple net-zero initiatives that have shuttered or paused operations over the past year, largely in response to pressure brought on U.S. businesses by Republican lawmakers and state legislatures, following the re-election of Trump. Several states have passed measures creating a “blacklist” of companies and asset managers that “boycott” energy or fossil fuel companies. Membership in an organization trying to limit carbon emissions is considered proof of such a boycott and has resulted in member companies losing business and mandates by being placed on the blacklist. 

In January 2025, the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, which sought to establish net-zero portfolio emissions across the asset management industry, paused its operations following the exit of several prominent firms including BlackRock, Vanguard and Northern Trust. The initiative resumed operations in October—without a 2050 portfolio emissions reduction target. In October 2025, the Net Zero Banking Alliance ceased its operations following the exit of major U.S. banks, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorganChase, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.