Updates with an additional context in paragraphs 6 onwards, analyst comment in paragraph 8

By Adwitiya Srivastava and Byron Kaye

Feb 11 (Reuters) - Australia's Macquarie Group MQG.AX said on Tuesday it would leave a global banking sector climate coalition, joining a host of North American banks that have quit the alliance since Donald Trump returned as U.S. President in early November.

The Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) is a UN-sponsored initiative set up by former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney and launched in 2021 to encourage financial institutions to limit the effects of climate change and push toward achieving net-zero emissions.

However, Trump's presidential victory and his subsequent decisions to pull out from the Paris Agreement and the UN Green Climate Fund have triggered an exodus from the NZBA, which currently has 134 members in 44 countries, as per its website.

Trump has been critical of efforts by governments to prescribe climate-change policies.

Goldman Sachs GS.N was the first to leave, on December 6. It was followed by five U.S. peers -- Wells Fargo WFC.N, Citigroup C.N, Bank of America BAC.N, Morgan Stanley MS.N, and JPMorgan JPM.N.

In Canada, TD Bank TD.TO, Bank of Montreal BMO.TO, National Bank of Canada NA.TO and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CM.TO (CIBC) withdrew from the coalition last month ahead of Trump being inaugurated as president.

Macquarie did not say why it was leaving the NZBA but said it would give an update on its climate activities in its annual report in May 2025.

"After years of touting itself as a green bank, Macquarie is showing its true colours following the big U.S. banks into undermining global climate goals," said Kyle Robertson, a senior banking analyst at Market Forces.

However, Australia's big four banks -- Westpac WBC.AX, ANZ Group Holdings ANZ.AX, Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX, National Australia Bank NAB.AX -- are still part of the alliance.

HSBC HSBA.L, Barclays BARC.L, Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE and Singapore's DBS Bank DBSM.SI, among others, also remain members.

(Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K and Savio D'Souza)

((Adwitiya.Srivastava@thomsonreuters.com;))