(Ottawa) The leaders of the five major Canadian banks pleaded for the energy transition Thursday while being accused of greenwashing. Extremely rare, they were summoned at the same time before a committee of the House of Commons to account for their billions of investments in fossil fuels and their impact on climate change.
Executives from BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC, RBC and TD Bank answered a barrage of questions from elected officials via video conference.
At the outset, BMO Financial Group CEO Darryl White said the transition to a net-zero emissions world is not “all or nothing.” “This does not mean disengaging from the energy sector,” he said.
The big five banks said they were working with their energy sector clients to help them reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly through new technologies.
“The five Canadian banks are all ranked in the first third of the world rankings for hydrocarbon financing,” Bloc Québécois MP Monique Pauzé reminded them.
“What do you want to say to the thousands of Canadians who consider that your actions and your directions serve to finance climate chaos, population displacement, deforestation, poisoned water, toxic residues, cancer, the destruction of ecosystems” , she asked Scotiabank CEO Scott Thomson.
“My message to Canadians is that we can be a leader in the energy transition,” he replied. […] We must move away from reducing emissions at all costs and adopt a comprehensive strategy that encompasses all energy sources. »
This includes “aggressively” decarbonizing fossil fuel production with carbon capture and storage, expanding nuclear power and providing incentives for companies to accelerate their transition to renewable energy.
“Finally, what you are telling us, Mr. Thomson, is the same speech as the oil companies,” retorted the elected representative for the Repentigny constituency.
There is no question, either, of stopping investing in GHG-heavy tar sands. “It’s important that we do this in an orderly manner, otherwise we risk putting everything at risk.” We need to protect jobs throughout the process, it’s about helping our clients make the transition and reduce their emissions,” said RBC CEO David McKay.
PHOTO DENIS GERMAIN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
RBC CEO David McKay
He reiterated that 80% of clients of energy sector companies with which RBC does business have a plan to reduce their GHG emissions.
The report Banking on Climate Chaos unveiled in May revealed that major Canadian banks had provided $142 billion in financing for fossil fuels in 2023. The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) topped the list with $38.6 billion, placing it at 7e world rank. They also financed 49% of the 6 billion paid to the 36 tar sands companies while other banks around the world reduced their investments.
NDP MP Matthew Green accused them of “financing the expansion of fossil fuels that will generate new emissions for decades to come” and of greenwashing. Scientists are instead calling for abandoning the fossil fuel sector to curb global warming.
Conservative MP Gérard Deltell argued that companies in this sector can always find financing abroad if they do not obtain any here. BMO Financial Group CEO Darryl White acknowledged it was a possibility.
Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 in Canada will require approximately “60 billion in annual public and private investments,” the President and CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada, David McKay, has repeatedly emphasized. “That’s double what we’re currently spending. »