Bank of America – Chidera Nelson – 2020

Goals

In April 2020, the Bank released its first TCFD report where it highlighted its commitment to assessing methodologies for measuring financed emissions in order to determine the feasibility of aligning its financing activities with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.  To make progress on this topic, Bank of America engaged Sonia Nelson to pilot work on financed emissions and climate alignment for one of its portfolios.

Solutions

Sonia approached this challenge in three ways:

• Reviewed the global landscape for methodologies of assessing financed emissions and mapped possible options. This review involved understanding the accounting rules, coverage of assets, sources of carbon activity data as well as the feasibility of adopting the methodology in question. This process was part of the Bank’s eventual decision to join the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) after engaging with multiple stakeholders within the bank.
• Evaluated the feasibility of using the PCAF methodology for the business loan asset class by assessing one sector.
• Analyzed creative ways to assess climate alignment by evaluating publicly available benchmarking tools and engaging with partners including Rocky Mountain Institute’s Center for Climate-Aligned Finance and SBTi.

Impact

Sonia’s work during the fellowship was part of Bank of America’s efforts towards climate alignment, including its decision to join PCAF. As a member of the Core Team at PCAF, the Bank is able to lend its expertise on financed emissions towards developing a global carbon accounting standard. 

Going forward, the Bank aims to take learnings from the fellowship and apply it in assessing financed emissions.