Canadian bank named world’s largest fossil fuel financier

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

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

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

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

“JPMorgan Chase retains its overall ranking as the worst fossil fuel bank since 2016, having committed $434 billion since the year the Paris Agreement went into effect,” says the report, authored by the Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club and other environmentalists. organizations

For years, climate activists have called on the main financial institutions around the world to get rid of fossil fuel companies as a way to address the climate crisis.

In Canada, this has included a push by indigenous communities to get major banks to withdraw their money from controversial pipeline projects, including the Coastal GasLink pipeline that will run through Wet’suwet’en territory on the west coast of the country.

RBC Chairman and CEO Dave McKay has defended the bank’s support for Coastal GasLink, local media reportedsaying 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, senior energy strategist at Greenpeace Canada, also said the new report’s findings showed that “we can no longer simply trust bankers to do the right thing on climate change or indigenous rights.”

“Asking politely is only going to keep the big banks cheating us,” Stewart said.

“Canada is currently legislating a requirement for automakers to phase out gasoline-powered cars in favor of electric vehicles,” he said, “and now our federal banking regulators should similarly require banks to phase out financing for fossil fuels while increasing support for clean vehicles.” energy.”