For some bankers, net-zero is like a new year¡¯s resolution ¡ª a pledge one makes and often breaks before a year has passed.

Several of the largest banks, including JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley, headed into the U.N. COP26 climate talks last year as members of the world¡¯s biggest zero-carbon finance club. Their membership in the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), a group of roughly 500 financial sector entities, publicly committed their banks to reach net-zero carbon emissions by midcentury.

By September they were among a faction ready to quit, according to sources familiar with the matter. JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.