Environmental groups accuse the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) of greenwashing as RBC, which was the largest financier of fossil fuel projects globally in 2022, released a report that points the way to follow to achieve carbon neutrality in Canada.
The RBC Climate Action Institute has released its first “Climate Action Report,” which highlights progress, but also actions Canadians should take to reduce greenhouse gases.
The country’s largest bank presents its report as “an unprecedented overview of the fight against climate change in Canada” and writes in particular that “Canada must almost double its climate spending to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050” and that consumers will have to change their habits.
Environmental groups were quick to react after the document was published.
“RBC is asking consumers to spend their thousands of dollars differently, but that won’t change the way it invests hundreds of billions in fossil fuels,” said Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist at Greenpeace Canada.
“RBC has no credibility to talk about Canada’s climate progress when it is the country’s largest financier of dirty oil, gas and coal,” said Richard Brooks of the Stand organization. earth.
According to data from the most recent Banking on Climate Chaos study, published by a consortium of environmental groups, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is the largest financier of fossil fuel projects globally in 2022.
Royal financial aid to the fossil fuel sector reached US$42 billion in 2022, according to the study, US$3 billion more than in 2021.
Which makes Richard Brooks say that “the RBC Climate Action Institute appears to be the bank’s public relations department for greenwashing” and that if it “takes climate action seriously, it can start by drafting a credible climate plan for the RBC”.
Called to react to these accusations, one of the authors of the report, Myha Truong-Regan, indicated that she is “not involved in the financial part of the bank” and that one of the mandates of the Institute RBC’s climate action plan, for which it conducts research, is to take an “evidence-based, data-driven approach to the way we conduct our research.”
The researcher emphasized that although she is part of the RBC, she also “enjoys independence in terms of her ability to do research.”
RBC does not suggest cutting oil production
In its report, the RBC Climate Action Institute suggests that corporate funding for climate action should be “increased exponentially” and that the industry should “take every opportunity possible to adopt technologies on a larger scale carbon capture, use and storage.
The RBC Climate Action Institute also recommends, for the year 2024, a series of initiatives concerning agriculture, buildings, electricity and transport.
However, nowhere in its 80-page report does the RBC Climate Action Institute recommend reducing oil production, as suggested, for example, by various reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). .
The sector in Canada that emits the most GHGs is oil and gas production with 179.8 Mt of eq. CO2 in 2020.
Should Canada reduce its oil production in order to reduce these GHGs and fight climate change?
To this question, here is what researcher Myha Truong-Regan answered: “These are business decisions that individuals in these sectors must make. This is not my expertise. Again, it’s a decision they have to make based on how they perceive the market demand for their products, their duty to their shareholders.”
According to data from the Banking on Climate Chaos study, since the signing of the Paris climate agreement in 2016, RBC has provided more than US$253.98 billion in financing to fossil fuel companies.
Double climate spending
The RBC Climate Action Institute report indicates that to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Canada will increase its climate spending from the current level of approximately $37 billion to $60 billion per year.
The paper also highlights that public markets, private equity and venture capital will need to “step up” and put more money into green investments, as they represent only 8% of capital flows for climate efforts since 2021.
According to the RBC Climate Action Institute, private markets are generating more than enough capital to finance more of the transition, with only 6% of new capital funding going to climate and clean technology efforts l ‘last year.
Provincial and municipal governments will also need to step up their efforts, the report says, and consumers will also need to change their spending habits, as the federal government has so far provided much of the funding and reached its budget limits.
This is a corrected version. A previous version included an error in the first name of Myha Truong-Regan.