The CO2 Emissions of the World’s Largest Banks

Today not only marks the UN’s International Day of Banks but is also day 4 of the COP28 summit in Dubai. With this in mind, the following chart considers the topic of banking through an environmental lens, providing a rundown of the carbon dioxide emissions of the largest banks in the world.

According to environmental reporting on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions displayed by the largest banks worldwide, the Agricultural Bank of China Limited produced more than two million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2022. It was followed by the Industrial Commercial Bank of China Limited and the China Construction Bank Corporation.

China fills not only the top four spots on this chart, but also rank 11 and 14, with the Postal Savings Bank of China Ltd. and the Bank of Communications Co. Ltd., respectively. But as illustrated here, the United States is home to multiple giant banks with a high output of CO2 emissions too. JPMorgan Chase reported the highest GHG emissions among the non-Chinese banks, with 961,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Most of the CO2 emissions for all of the banks on this chart were from indirect GHG emissions. In terms of GHG emissions strictly from business travel, the U.S.’ JPMorgan Chase Bank National Association, the Bank of America National Association, and France’s BNP Paribas SA reported the highest figures.

The selection of banks used in this chart is based on the largest banks worldwide, by total assets, found in their annual reports and compiled by Statista researchers. While France’s Crédit Agricole was among the top 15 largest banks in the world by total assets, it has been excluded from this chart due to lack of data availability. Emissions data of China’s Bank of Communications Co. Ltd. refers to the Head Office and the institutions based in Beijing.