Bank of America has joined a growing list of financial institutions in the US that plan to disclose the climate impact of their lending practices.

It has signed up with the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), which is developing a common framework to assess financed emissions.

Bank of America has been providing its financing and risk management expertise to support the development of a consistent methodology for assessing, measuring and disclosing greenhouse gas emissions attributed to financial activities.

Anne Finucane, Vice Chairman at Bank of America said: “As a global financial institution and as an industry, we have a critical role to play in accelerating the transition to a low carbon, more sustainable economy.

“By joining PCAF, we are helping to drive a consistent framework for institutions to measure financed emissions as well as providing a useful tool in the management of these emissions, which is a critical component when addressing climate change. We look forward to collaborating with other financial institutions and partners on this important effort.”

PCAF’s member financial institutions, which includes nearly 70 banks and investors from five continents, represent more than $9 trillion (£6.9tn) in assets.

Ivan Frishberg, First Vice President – Sustainable Banking, Amalgamated Bank and a member of the PCAF Steering Committee added: “Measuring the carbon impact of loans and investments is a fundamental building block for further climate action.

“Counting carbon may seem like a purely technical thing, but we measure so that we can manage, and Bank of America is showing its seriousness in this work through its active collaboration with PCAF.”

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