Canada’s big banks are not doing enough to reduce their carbon footprint, and they could be kicked out of the United Nations (UN) Net Zero club, says Greenpeace Canada in a new report released Wednesday.
In an analytical paper titled Aligned with Goal Zero? The alleged net zero liabilities of Canadian banks, environmental group urges Canada’s big banks — Royal Bank (RBC), Scotiabank, TD, Bank of Montreal (BMO) and CIBC — to come up with credible and ambitious plans to phase out their support to fossil fuels.
These five big banks are part of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), an initiative to accelerate the decarbonisation of the financial sector by 2050, which was launched a few months before the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November. last. However, they continue to act as the main funders of fossil fuels globally, says Greenpeace.
In a report published last spring, we already learned that the five major Canadian banks were among the 20 banks in the world that granted the most financing to the fossil fuel sector between 2016 and 2021. Over the same period, they also each increased their funding to this industry. “It exemplifies their hypocrisy and the greenwashing they are involved in,” said Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist at Greenpeace Canada.
Without a robust plan to reduce their emissions, they could be forced out of GFANZ, damaging “their climate change credibility and reputation,” Mr Stewart said.
New terms
The big Canadian banks have little time to adapt. In June, Race To Zero, a UN-led campaign to set the standards by which GFANZ members are held, announced tougher new criteria for joining the alliance — including a ban on supporting new coal projects. Existing members have until next June to comply with these criteria.
According to FinancialTimes, Race To Zero is reportedly setting up an independent accountability body to which civil society groups can report financial institutions that fail to meet the criteria. The body would also have the power to evict financial institutions from GFANZ from 2023.
The UN could announce reinforced checks to ensure that financial institutions meet the new criteria, starting in September during New York Climate Week, then launching them at the COP27 summit, to be held in Egypt in November, again according to the business daily.
In total, GFANZ has more than 450 finance companies representing US$130 trillion in assets worldwide. The initiative is led by former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, alongside former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary Schapiro.