Dec 20 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo ( WFC ) has withdrawn

from a group of global banks committed to curbing greenhouse gas

emissions, increasing the number of high-profile firms exiting

climate initiatives amid mounting political pressure.

The bank has ended its membership in the Net-Zero Banking

Alliance, a spokesperson said on Friday, two weeks after another

notable exit by Goldman Sachs ( GS ).

Financial firms, which have long been criticized for their

ties to the fossil fuel industry, have tried to integrate

net-zero standards more prominently into their operations. But

more recently, they have started to scale back some of those

initiatives to avoid irking Republicans.

GOP officials have cracked down on companies they view as

climate-friendly. Last month, asset management giants BlackRock ( BLK )

, Vanguard and State Street were accused of

violating antitrust law through climate activism in a lawsuit by

Texas and 10 other Republican-led states.

Wells Fargo ( WFC ), however, did not give a reason behind the move.

"The alliance prefers not to see any bank leave but respects

the decision Wells Fargo ( WFC ) has made based on its own individual

circumstances," an NZBA spokesperson said.

The NZBA is a group of banks "committed to aligning their

lending and investment portfolios with net-zero emissions by

2050," according to its website.

Since the UN-backed alliance was founded in April 2021, it

has attracted over 100 banks while five have left, the group's

spokesperson said.

"The overall increase in membership indicates how important

understanding climate risk and the transition to net zero has

become to banks and companies around the world," they added.

Wells Fargo's ( WFC ) exit was first reported by Bloomberg News

earlier on Friday.