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The U.S. Federal Reserve announced on Friday it had withdrawn from a global body of central banks and regulators devoted to exploring ways to police climate risk in the financial system.

Federal Reserve Bank officials said the decision to leave the network came after the group’s work had “increasingly broadened in scope.”