The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) was the largest funder of fossil fuel projects globally in 2022, according to data from the latest Banking on Climate Chaos study, released 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, US$3 billion more than in 2021. Of this sum, US$4.8 billion went to the oil sands and US$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 in the top 15
Five Canadian banks are among the 15 largest donors to the fossil fuel industry in the world for the year 2022.
Scotiabank is in seventh place 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 aligning their loan and investment portfolios towards achieving 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.
For the year 2022, the American bank JPMorgan Chase finds itself in second position in the Banking on Climate Chaos ranking, behind the Royal Bank.
Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citi are also among the top five fossil fuel financiers for 2022.