New York City Responds to Protest Pressure and Applies Major Pressure on Asset Managers to Decarbonize

In April 2025, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander made one of the most meaningful decisions on the issue of climate finance in recent memory. Lander announced that any asset manager doing business with New York City’s pension funds must submit a climate plan within 2 months, which lays out a clear and viable strategy for asset managers to achieve net zero fossil fuel emissions for their portfolios by 2040, otherwise the city will pull its business from those asset managers and shift to institutions with real climate plans.

This move by New York City sends a very powerful signal to financial markets. The city’s pension funds are collectively worth $284 billion, meaning that asset managers will suffer serious financial consequences if they ignore the city’s ultimatum and refuse to update their climate goals. The decision is especially significant given that many major financial institutions have begun to renege on their climate commitments in the past few years. 

Lander’s decision to prioritize climate within the city’s investment did not come out of nowhere. The climate movement, and in particular CEF grantees including New York Communities for Change and Planet Over Profit, have been applying steady pressure on the city to use its financial weight to drive decarbonization efforts. 2024’s Summer of Heat on Wall Street, which mobilized thousands of people against the climate crimes of the financial sector, made huge waves in New York City and drove another climate finance win last year. This most recent decision from the New York City comptroller shows that the pressure is only building up as the Earth continues to overheat, and that people power can still create meaningful wins even under the Trump Administration.