Canadian bank named largest fossil fuel financier in the world

The Royal Bank of Canada contributed $42.1 billion to fossil fuel companies last year, environmental groups say in a new report.

A major Canadian bank was the world’s largest fossil fuel financier last year, contributing $42.1 billion to such companies. according to a new report from a coalition of environmental groups.

The Banking on Climate Chaos (PDF) report released Thursday found that the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) had surpassed US-based JP Morgan Chase for the first time since 2019.

RBC, one of Canada’s so-called “Big 5” banks, has contributed $254 billion to fossil fuel companies since the Paris Agreement, the global climate agreement that went into effect in 2016.

“JPMorgan Chase maintains its overall ranking of worst fossil fuel bank since 2016, with a commitment of $434 billion since the year the Paris Agreement went into effect,” said the report, produced by the Rainforest Action Network, the Sierra Club. and other environmental organizations. organizations.

For years, climate activists have been calling on major financial institutions around the world to divest from fossil fuel companies as a way to tackle the climate crisis.

In Canada, this has included efforts by Indigenous communities to get major banks to pull their money from controversial pipeline projects, including the Coastal GasLink pipeline that will cut through Wet’suwet’en territory on the country’s west coast .

RBC president and CEO Dave McKay has defended the bank’s support for Coastal GasLink, local media reported, saying the project had been reviewed and approved by regulators.

RBC did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on Thursday’s report.

In a statement shared by Greenpeace Canada, Wet’suwet’en leaders condemned the bank’s position and called on RBC to “defund climate chaos now”.

Keith Stewart, a senior energy strategist for Greenpeace Canada, also said the new report’s findings showed that “we can no longer rely on bankers to do the right thing on climate change or indigenous rights.”

“Asking politely will only result in us being played for suckers by the big banks,” Stewart said.

“Canada is currently imposing an obligation on automakers to phase out gasoline-powered cars in favor of electric vehicles,” he said, “and now our federal banking regulators must similarly require banks to phase out fossil fuel financing while simultaneously increasing support for clean energy.”