The U.S. Federal Reserve announced on Friday it had withdrawn from a global body of central banks and regulators devoted to exploring ways to police climate risk in the financial system.

The Federal Reserve said Friday that it is leaving an international grouping of central banks that focused on how regulation of the financial system could help combat climate change. The Fed's membership has been criticized by Republicans in Congress.

The central bank said it had decided to leave the network after the group’s work “increasingly broadened in scope.”