Several dozen activists gathered in front of the offices of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in Montreal on Friday to denounce the institution’s investments in fossil fuels.
The front forecourt of the bank, located on Place Ville Marie, was covered in black gouache, to simulate an oil spill. Protesters were sitting on the ground next to a fake pipeline that read “RBC $ chaos & injustice”.
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
Protesters offered their support to the Wet’suwet’en Nation, which would see the Coastal Gaslink (CGL) pipeline project erected in their territory in British Columbia. The project is notably funded by RBC.
“The banks are enormously responsible for the ecological crisis, and the issues of the violation of indigenous rights, because behind every project, behind every extension of the fossil industry, there is someone who finances [et] who benefits, ”said Louis Ramirez, spokesperson for Extinction Rébellion.
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
In addition to his organization, Greenpeace Canada, the Student Coalition for an Environmental and Social Shift (CEVES), Quit RBC, Climate Justice Montreal, and Divest McGill came together to organize the rally.
Two days before the United Nations climate conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, environmentalists are calling on banks around the world to stop investing in fossil fuels. The demonstrators also want the RBC “to adopt a policy of respect for indigenous rights”, specifies Louis Ramirez.
“We can see that we will not succeed if the banks continue to finance the problem”, launches the spokesperson for Greenpeace Canada, Patrick Bonin. “What is particularly worrying for us is that they continue as if nothing had happened despite we see the worsening of deadly heat waves, fires and other disasters that are fueled […] by climate change, ”he continues.
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
Since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2016, RBC has invested more than $ 200 billion in the fossil fuel industry. It is the fifth largest company in the world to finance this type of energy, according to the Banking on Climate Chaos report, published in 2021.
The objective of the event was “to respect the science which requires drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” recalls Rosalie Thibault of the Student Coalition for an Environmental and Social Shift (CEVES). “The investments of the banks are not aligned with that”, she adds.
In the wee hours of Friday morning, members of Extinction Rebellion also covered Highway 40 billboards with their own banners to point the finger at RBC’s investments in fossil fuels.
Several actions by environmental activists took place simultaneously across the world on Friday. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg notably demonstrated in London against the financial community’s contribution to the climate crisis.