2023-04-15 00:38:10
The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) was the world’s largest funder of fossil fuel projects in 2022, according to data from the latest report Banking on Climate Chaosreleased Thursday by a consortium of environmental groups.
Royal’s financial assistance to the fossil fuel sector reached US$42 billion in 2022, according to the study, up US$3 billion from 2021. Of that, US$4.8 billion went to the oil sands and 7.4 billion to extraction by hydraulic fracturing.
Also according to the study, since the signing of the Paris Climate Accord in 2016, RBC has provided more than US$253.98 billion in financing to fossil fuel companies.
Five Canadian banks are among the world’s 15 largest fossil fuel lenders for 2022.
Scotiabank ranks seventh with investments of US$29.5 billion, closely followed by TD Bank in eighth place (29 billion).
The Bank of Montreal (19 billion) occupies the 13e rank and the CIBC is at 14e rank (17 billion).
Double speech
The Royal Bank is however part of the Net Zero banking alliance, an initiative of the United Nations.
Banks joining this alliance must commit to changing their loan and investment portfolios to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as well as setting intermediate goals for 2030 or earlier.
Passing through Montreal for COP15 in December, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres called for a reform of the financial system and asked banks in particular to ensure that their investments promote the conservation and sustainable use of the biodiversity.
“Our call is not just for Canadian banks, it’s for the financial sector in general. It is necessary that banks and financial institutions in general and the organizations that hold them […] accelerate their change, that they move from the financing of fossil fuels to the financing of the green economy”, had indicated the Secretary General of the United Nations at a press conference.
“The worst of the worst”
In light of the ranking of Banking on Climate ChaosGreenpeace Canada is calling on the federal government to legislate for banks to phase out fossil fuel financing while increasing their support for clean energy.
“RBC is now the worst of the worst, literally dipping in the tar sands and having no climate plan. If we simply continue to ask the banks politely to respect climate science and respect aboriginal rights, clearly, they will not do it, and the results we have today show that the government must regulate the banks,” said the organization.
The Canadian Press tried to get a reaction from the Royal Bank of Canada on Thursday morning regarding the ranking, but at the time of this writing in the followingnoon, the news agency had not yet received Answer.
For the year 2022, the American bank JPMorgan Chase is in second position in the ranking of Banking on Climate Chaoslast the Royal Bank.
Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citi are also among the top five fossil fuel financiers for 2022.
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