Category: General

We are writing in regards to the Department of Finance’s consultation regarding the proposed acquisition of HSBC Bank of Canada (HSBC) by RBC Royal Bank (RBC). The undersigned groups urge the Department to either reject the proposed acquisition, or accept it conditional on RBC i) implementing a Credible Climate Plan and ii) committing to meeting or exceeding HSBC’s international commitments to ending investments in fossil fuels.

RBC is both the largest bank in Canada and the largest financier of fossil fuels globally. HSBC, by contrast, set a global precedent by announcing a policy to stop financing new oil and gas projects and has stated that its investments in fossil fuels will decrease. The Canadian federal government’s climate goals can only be met if private finance flows in the right direction. If the Department were to accept the proposed acquisition without adding climate related conditions, the acquisition would result in: impeding progress on Canada’s fight against climate change, fewer green options for Canadian banking consumers, and unmanageable levels of climate-related risks destabilizing the Canadian financial system.

RBC’s ongoing financing of high emitting companies and projects contributes to worsening the effects of climate change. RBC has financed over C$340 B in fossil fuels since the Paris Climate Agreement was signed, and in 2022 was the world’s #1 funder of fossil fuels. RBC has set only “emissions intensity” targets for 2030, which would allow its total financed emissions to rise. The bank touts billions set aside for “sustainable finance,” but included in this category a C$1 B loan for an Enbridge oil sands pipeline. The scale of RBC’s investment into sustainable projects is negligible relative to its investments in climate-damaging fossil fuels, with a recent report showing RBC puts $99 of its energy finance into fossil fuels for every $1 in renewable energy. Despite claims to be Net Zero by 2050 and to support clients in the energy transition, RBC’s business practices show it has no intention of cutting its financing of fossil fuels.

RBC’s track record is relevant in comparison to that of HSBC Canada, which has taken further action to deliver on its sustainability commitments. HSBC Canada helped issue Canada’s first green bond, had many corporate clients who valued sustainability, and consistently ranks higher than RBC in Corporate Knights Corporate Citizenship rankings. In 2022, HSBC announced a global policy to stop financing new oil and gas projects, which, while imperfect, set a new global precedent and was welcomed by UK NGOs. Importantly for your consideration, RBC had that climate policy exempted from HSBC Canada as a condition for the takeover in question.

In 2022 HSBC’s global fossil fuel financing declined, and will continue to do so based on its commitments, while RBC’s increased making RBC the top global banker of fossil fuels.

Climate change has been identified by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) as one of the top risks to the stability of the financial system. According to OSFI, federally regulated financial institutions and private pension plans face physical risks (i.e., from climate change-related weather events) and transition risks (i.e., transition to a low greenhouse gas emitting or “low carbon” economy.) These risks are considered “transversal” in nature because they drive more traditional risks, including credit, market, insurance, operational and legal risks, which could exacerbate over time, impacting the safety and soundness of individual financial institutions, and the Canadian financial system more broadly.

Consolidation within the sector where a poor climate performer absorbs a counterpart with better performance undermines the stability of the financial system. The loss of a competitor moving to phase down its support for fossil fuels would further consolidate Canadian investment into an area at risk of becoming stranded, worsening the level of climate risk in our national economy. Over C$100 B of Canadian assets are at risk of becoming stranded, due to the financial sector moving too slowly on the climate transition. The Canadian Energy Regulator’s recent Net Zero report shows Canadian energy production would decrease by over 76% if the world succeeds in reaching net zero emissions by 2050. The Bank of Canada estimates that the Canadian economy could experience an 8-to-10 percent decline in GDP due to being unprepared for the climate transition.

The proposed transaction would have various other negative impacts on Canadians which should be considered, including implications on consumer mortgage rates, housing affordability, and the cost of living. RBC has also demonstrated significant cases of mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples and does not have meaningful policies to address the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples.

The Federal Government has advanced a whole of government approach to fighting climate change, however private finance remains a gaping hole. As long as financial institutions are allowed to expand support for the companies making climate change worse, Canada’s financial system and our ability to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement will be at risk.

Finance Minister Freeland has publicly stated that “the global economy is turning swiftly, decisively, and irreversibly green. It is essential for Canada to be at the forefront of this great transformation.” We therefore urge you to either reject the proposed acquisition, or to accept it conditional on our two recommended constraints of RBC i) implementing a Credible Climate Plan and ii) committing to meeting or exceeding HSBC’s international commitments to ending investments in fossil fuels.

Sincerely,

• Stand.earth
• Ecojustice
• For Our Kids
• Decolonial Solidarity
• Shift: Action for Pension Health and Planet Wealth
• Environmental Defence Canada
• Leadnow
• Re_Generation
• Quit RBC / Lâche RBC
• Climate Justice Thunder Bay
• Ontario Climate Emergency Campaign
• Climate Action Network – Réseau action climat Canada
• Regroupement pour la responsabilité sociale (RRSE)

 

The above letter was submitted to the Federal Department of Finance as part of their consultations for reviewing the takeover of HSBC by RBC.

Walking out of my home in Toronto to the smell of wildfires in the air in recent days has been jarring. I’ve felt a new wave of climate anxiety, listening to public health advice and sending my 12-year-old to school through the haze in a pandemic-era mask.

As I experience the climate crisis in a new way, it makes me think about so many other communities, most often Indigenous and racialized people, who are the most impacted by climate change and the least protected. The past few weeks were no exception, with thousands forced to evacuate remote First Nations communities.

At the same time, I’m feeling the sting of sky-high grocery bills as I support my family, and watching affordable housing become even further out of reach — realities that also hit marginalized and low-income communities hardest.

Right now, a deal is in the works that could make life even harder for Canadian families as we live through a climate crisis driven by fossil fuels and an affordability crisis fuelled by the pursuit of corporate profits.

RBC, Canada’s largest bank and the world’s largest fossil fuel financier, is trying to buy HSBC’s Canadian division. If approved, it would be the biggest bank merger in Canadian history and would mean Canadians face even higher costs to bank and borrow just as it seems the cost of living crisis couldn’t get any worse.

Less competition means less pressure to make products affordable. Last year, RBC made $15.8 billion in profits and recently raised credit card interest rates from an already high 19.99 per cent to 20.99 per cent, further squeezing families trying to cover costs.

Like everyone across the country, families in Toronto are scrambling to secure affordable housing. HSBC Bank Canada is an aggressive competitor to RBC on mortgage rates, currently beating big banks like RBC by 0.75 per cent — that’s over $30,000 less in interest paid over five years by Vancouver and Toronto residents.

RBC is the world’s largest financier of fossil fuels, financing over $55 billion in fossil fuel projects last year alone and $340 billion since 2016. Its climate plan has been largely panned since it allows the bank to keep investing in oil and gas and continue to drive up emissions, and the Competition Bureau is investigating the company for misleading climate claims across its products and advertisements as it looks into the proposed purchase.

Among the fossil fuel projects RBC finances are the Coastal GasLink pipeline and the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, which violate Indigenous sovereignty and have been used to justify violence against land defenders. Indigenous Peoples, meanwhile, continue to face disproportionate impacts from climate change even as their stewardship and defence of the land is one of the most effective forms of climate action.

HSBC is actually reducing fossil fuel funding year over year and announcing it will no longer invest in new oil and gas fields. HSBC Bank Canada was excluded from that policy in the lead-up to the proposed purchase by RBC.

Taking HSBC Bank Canada out of the picture means Canadians will have one less option for more sustainable banking — at a time when 70 per cent of us are worried about climate change — and will reduce pressure on RBC to move away from oil and gas.

With wildfire smoke keeping kids inside and sweltering temperatures that continue to break records, it’s clear what we’re experiencing is tied to fossil fuels and the climate crisis. As our climate changes, kids face elevated risks of asthma, allergies, food insecurity and a growing mental health crisis.

Until July 6, the public has an opportunity to weigh in on the merger. I’ll be submitting a comment on behalf of my son to say it’s time to put the well-being of our kids and communities ahead of RBC’s bottomline. The last thing we need is Canada’s biggest bank and the world’s largest fossil fuel financier becoming more powerful.

If we believe in reconciliation, an equitable society, making life affordable for all Canadians, and a safe environment for our kids to grow up in, we have to take this opportunity to say no to this merger.

Vanessa Brown is a Toronto-based parent, small business owner, volunteer with the BE Initiative, a Black-led environmental justice not-for-profit, and volunteer with For Our Kids, a national network of people taking climate action on behalf of their kids.

 

The above was an opinion article originally posted in the National Observer. Read the full article here.

If RBC were taking its climate commitments seriously, you would at least think they would have a strong policy on coal – the world’s dirtiest, deadliest, and dumbest fossil fuel.

But no, RBC seems to have no issues with finding loopholes that enable it to continue financing coal, an energy source that kills potentially a million people a year, that is the biggest cause of climate chaos, and that even RBC’s own home country runs a global campaign to phase out.

A new report released by France based NGO Reclaim Finance, as covered in The Energy Mix, calls the RBC coal policy “one of the poorest among global banks”, allowing RBC to continue to do business with the vast majority of coal mining companies.

The RBC coal policy (allows RBC to continue) doing business with 319 of the 526 coal mining companies and 400 of the 604 coal power companies on the Global Coal Exit List (GCEL) maintained by Urgewald, a non-profit environmental and human rights organization based in Sassenberg, Germany.

Reclaim Finance points to two big gaps in the RBC’s current coal policy:

• It only excludes new clients, allowing the bank to continue investing in at least 30 companies that are already in its portfolio. That makes RBC the author of “the biggest loophole that can be found in a bank sector policy,” the release says.
• The exclusion only applies to mining companies that derive at least 60% of their revenue, or utilities that produce at least 60% of their power, from coal. “These thresholds are a long way from best practice as seen at Desjardins in Canada,” with restrictions of 0% for coal mining and 10% for coal power capacity.

Those provisions enable RBC to continue funding clients like coal mining giant Glencore, Reclaim Finance says. The bank also arranged US$5.4-billion in “sustainability-linked” financing for German utility RWE, which “razed a whole village in western Germany to the ground in January 2023 to expand one of its coal mines”.

Read the full story in The Energy Mix.

Image courtesy of Below 2C

The following letter was sent to the Competition Bureau.

We are writing in regards to the Request For Information (RFI) the Competition Bureau opened on May 1, 2023 about the proposed acquisition of HSBC Bank of Canada by RBC. This transaction is an issue the undersigned groups are paying close attention to, and we urge the Bureau to reject the acquisition after considering the consequences for efforts to mitigate climate change and the availability of sustainable financial options for consumers.

We applaud recent moves by the Competition Bureau to address the issues of misleading climate and environmental claims in advertising, aka greenwashing. Commissioner Boswell recently stated the “Bureau’s job is to protect the integrity of the marketplace, and that includes consumer confidence in the green economy.” The three current investigations the Bureau has opened relating to deceptive green marketing practices – including on RBC – are proof of this priority.

So while your RFI consultation rightly centres on issues of personal and business financial services in Canada’s highly concentrated banking sector, we believe you are missing a fundamental concern with this proposed transaction that can’t be overlooked.

RBC has a significant negative impact on our climate due to their ongoing financing of high emitting companies. RBC has financed over C$340 B in fossil fuels since the Paris Climate Agreement was signed, and in 2022 became the world’s #1 financial backer of fossil fuels. RBC has set only “emissions intensity” targets for 2030, which will allow its total financed emissions to rise. When challenged on its climate record it touts billions set aside for “sustainable finance,” but RBC deemed a $1B Enbridge oil sands pipeline loan sustainable, and a 2023 report shows RBC puts $99 of its energy finance into fossil fuels for every $1 in renewable energy.

RBC’s track record is relevant in comparison to that of HSBC Canada, a bank which has taken action to deliver on its sustainability commitments. HSBC helped issue Canada’s first green bond, had many corporate clients who valued sustainability, and consistently ranked higher than RBC in Corporate Knights Corporate Citizenship rankings. In 2022, HSBC announced a precedent setting policy to stop financing new oil and gas projects, which, while imperfect, was welcomed by UK NGOs. Importantly for your consideration, RBC had that climate policy exempted from HSBC Canada as a condition for the takeover in question. In 2022 HSBC’s global fossil fuel financing went down, and will continue to do so based on commitments made at the time, while RBC’s went up, making RBC the top global banker of fossil fuels.

Despite claims to be Net Zero by 2050 and to support clients in the energy transition, RBC’s business practices show it has no intention of cutting its financing of fossil fuels. Both the UN and International Energy Agency agree we must cut our climate emissions in half by 2030, and that there is no room in a Net Zero 2050 scenario for any new fossil fuel development. The UN Secretary General states “we must have zero tolerance for net-zero greenwashing.”

If RBC takes over the greener HSBC Canada it will remove sustainable choices from the marketplace. In a world where consumers and citizens increasingly make decisions based upon the climate impact of the products and services they consume, the loss of competitive pressure to improve climate and environmental performance in financial services is a growing problem.

Further, the loss of a competitor moving to phase down its support for fossil fuels to one that is increasing it will serve to further consolidate Canadian investment into an area at risk of becoming stranded, worsening the level of climate risk in our national economy.

There are numerous other reasons to reject this proposed transaction due to its negative impacts on mortgage rates, affordable housing and cost of living. RBC has also demonstrated significant cases of mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples and lacks meaningful policies to address the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples.

Commissioner Boswell has publicly stated that “climate change may be the greatest market failure we have faced.” We therefore urge you to consider the impacts of this proposed acquisition on diminished competitive pressure on green financial choices and increased climate risk, and to reject the proposed acquisition of HSBC Canada by RBC.

Sincerely,

• Environmental Defence Canada
• Stand.Earth
• LeadNow
• Climate Action Network Canada
• Banking on a Better Future
• Friends of the Earth Canada
• For Our Kids
• Re_Generation
• 350.org Canada
• Coalition Sortons la Caisse du Carbone
• Decolonial Solidarity
• Gidim’ten Checkpoint
• West Coast Environmental Law
• Shift: Action for Pension Health and Planet Wealth

Representing over 1,325,000 Canadian supporters 

The above letter was delivered to the head of the Competition Bureau, as well as submitted to the Minister of Finance and Minister for Climate Change and Environment on May 25, 2023.

In a new campaign launched today, national environmental organization Environmental Defence included RBC’s CEO Dave McKay on their list of the top people most responsible for blocking progress on solving the climate crisis.

What do the CEO of Imperial Oil, the head of RBC bank and the head of Big Oil’s biggest lobby association, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, all have in common?

They’re all committed to using their power to block climate action in order to profit personally from more oil and gas production. And they’re preventing efforts to build a healthy, equitable world beyond fossil fuels.

That makes them three of Canada’s top ‘climate villains’.

That’s why we’ve included them in our brand-new campaign that names and shames the key players in the fossil fuel industry who are guilty of fueling climate chaos and the tactics they use to greenwash and misinform us all.

The website puts the “focus on key individuals – by pulling back the curtain on seven of the most influential players behind Canada’s oil and gas industry who are truly to blame for the climate crisis and revealing the strategies they employ.”

In adding a bank CEO to a list filled with oil industry leaders and PR hacks, it says:

The list also includes Dave McKay, the CEO of RBC (aka Mr. Money Bags). In 2022, RBC provided more financing to oil and gas companies than any other bank in the world. RBC talks a big game about climate action and “net zero” but since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, RBC has poured nearly $350 billion dollars into climate-destroying fossil fuel companies.

Check out the website and meet the other climate villains at ClimateVillains.ca.

Chatelaine calls itself as “Canada’s largest women’s brand” and its lifestyle magazine has been a stalwart of the Canadian media industry since the 1920’s. That’s why it’s a big deal to see them bring the message about RBC’s harmful investments in fossil fuels and projects that harm Indigenous people’s to hundreds of thousands of people.

In an article published today called “I switched to a credit union to help fight climate change” the authour says:

It turns out that Canada’s “big five” banks—that includes RBC as well as TD, Scotiabank, BMO and CIBC, in declining order of how much money they make—are big investors in fossil fuel projects. In 2022, out of all the world’s banks, RBC was the largest investor in fossil fuels on Earth.

If, like me, you believe we need to transition off fossil fuels ASAP to avoid the worst effects of climate change—which, let’s be honest, are already getting bad—these numbers might not make a lot of sense. Yes, some of that money helps create jobs and goes into local economies. But at what cost?

She was also savvy in response to RBC’s self-interested greeenwash:

To get their perspective for this article, I got in touch with RBC’s communications department and asked if I could speak with someone about their policies on fossil fuel investment. Instead, I received a reply to my questions via an email. The gist: Don’t worry, climate change is a big deal but RBC is on it, and while we’re aiming for net-zero eventually, and we’re investing in clean energy, we need fossil fuels to fill the gap.

“The transition will not happen overnight—without risking significant harm and disruption to lives and livelihoods.”

I mean, sure. I agree that cutting fossil fuel use down to zero tomorrow would cause chaos. But if you ask me, RBC really seems to be trying to have its cake and eat it too…thanks to our rampant and still-growing fossil fuel use, climate change is already causing significant harm and disruption to lives and livelihoods—and they’re costly, too.

She also covered the importance of the Indigenous-led divestment movement and their demands for RBC and other banks to recognize the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of Indigenous Peoples to this work:

Free, prior and informed consent sounds like a small ask, but time is money, after all, and we’re talking about a business culture that loves the phrase “it’s better to get forgiveness than permission.” The trouble is, forgiveness is one thing, but a damaged and polluted ecosystem is another. If you break someone’s car, or computer, or couch, you can replace it. You can’t say the same for a river or a forest.

What Gray and her colleagues at ICA are pushing for is Indigenous divestment, which she defines as very similar to fossil fuel divestment. “Environmental protections are only a small part of the issue,” she says. “It’s one thing to build a park instead of a mine. It’s another thing to not criminalize Indigenous people for being on our own territories, and to not displace Indigenous peoples for protecting our waters and lands against a pipeline without opportunity.”

Read the full article on the Chatelaine website.

It’s been three weeks since the RBC AGM in Saskatoon and the national Fossil Fool’s Day mobilization the weekend prior. Here’s an update to all of our amazing grassroots leaders on what we’ve just pulled off.

We went from 8% of shareholder support to … 26%

At last year’s RBC AGM, a single resolution called for the bank to clarify its definition of sustainable finance. It got 8% of the vote.

But this year, a resolution calling for RBC to respect the right to free, prior, and informed consent garnered 26% of support.

A resolution calling for RBC to implement real emissions reductions targets achieved 16% support; and calls to stop fossil fuel expansion achieved 6.5%.

In terms of shareholder votes at an AGM, anything approaching 20% is considered a “controversial result, because over 90% of shareholders usually toe the company line.” We did that – our actions over the last year nearly tripled opposition within RBC’s shareholder base. And that’s not all…

Millions of Canadians were exposed to national media reports about RBC’s record for five days straight

When we started on this campaign, the dominant view was that Canadian media would not cover national mobilizations.

Amazingly, on Saturday April 1, “Fossil Fool’s Day” was plastered across TV screens. We scored hundreds of media hits across this country, including amazing local ones, even landing an 8pm interview for the amazing Wet’suwet’en leader Eve Saint on CTV National News!

The following day, the Canadian Press released an article with the headline reading that banks were under pressure from shareholders. And things were only beginning.

Then on the Monday, as our delegation arrived in Saskatoon, Grand Chief Stewart Phillips published an op-ed in the Toronto Star inciting banks to respect FPIC. Then, on Tuesday, Global News disclosed how RBC had arranged ‘sustainable’ funding for a notorious German coal company! On the day of, Grand Chief Stewart Philips appeared on two national shows, Power Play and Power & Politics. Even a rightwing columnist couldn’t help but to tell our side of the story…

The other side’s ugly side

But there is more to the Saskatoon RBC AGM story than media or investor turnout. Here, the story forks and splits between beauty and ugliness.

This video by Dayna Reggero shows solidarity, emotion, a gathering of many incredible Indigenous and BIPOC leaders convening to take part in ceremony, discuss land, and financing of land theft.

This video by World Change Media captures callous, racist, and unprofessional behaviour by RBC who segregated Indigenous and BIPOC delegation to another room.

RBC’s behaviour, RCMP presence and snipers on the roof, the vile attacks on Wet’suwet’en governance had a profound and difficult impact on Land Defenders and ourselves.

We rise above it. On his way home, Chief Na’Moks wrote us the following message to be shared:

Even with the violent, racist acts and threats of RBC and RCMP, our dignity, as a whole, was maintained and apparent to the world … Please do share with all our friends and allies how very proud and honoured I am to stand with you all, all should take time for self care, it is so very unfortunate that all had experience parts of what the Wet’suwet’en experience on a daily basis, I wish it weren’t that way.

Love and respect to you all!

Released today, the 14th annual Banking on Climate Chaos report, the most comprehensive global analysis on fossil fuel banking, unveils Royal Bank of Canada as the world’s #1 fossil fuel financier in 2022. 

RBC pumped over USD$42.1 billion in 2022 in fossil fuel companies in the last fiscal year – an increase over 2021 levels. In total, since the Paris Climate Agreement was adopted in 2016, RBC has financed more than USD $253.98 billion to fossil fuel companies.

Total overall financing of fossil fuel companies by Canadian banks increased in 2022 over 2021 levels, surpassing USD $137 billion – the largest amount since before the Paris Climate Agreement was signed.

More information on Canadian Banks fossil fuel financing here.

Bank	Fossil funding 2022 (USD / CAD billions)	Global Annual Rank 2022	Global Annual Rank 2016 – 2021
RBC	42.1 / 54.7	1	5
Scotiabank	29.5 / 38.4	7	9
TD	29.0 / 37.7	8	10
BMO	19.3 / 25.1	13	15
CIBC	17.9 / 23.3	14	19
TOTAL	137.8 / 179.2

 

Public pressure is mounting on RBC – Canada’s, and now the world’s – #1 fossil fuel financing bank, to stop funding fossil fuel expansion and ramp up investments in climate-safe solutions.

At its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Saskatoon just last week, RBC proved it has no interest in Indigenous reconciliation, furthering corporate colonialism in how the bank treated the Indigenous and Black delegation. The bank opted to apply a reserve system to its AGM, forcing Indigenous and Black delegates into a second class room, with color-coded passes.

Outside the AGM, hundreds of Indigenous water protectors, young people, and allies rallied. RBC’s AGM comes weeks after a large force of RCMP C-IRG raided a Gidimt’en village site, and arrested five land and water defenders, mostly Indigenous women. Days earlier, thousands of people took action for Fossil Fools Day at over 40 actions outside RBC branches across so-called Canada.

The day before its AGM, just as RBC re-packaged existing staff into a new climate institute to do “thought leadership” on climate, reports revealed that RBC helped arrange US$5.4B of ‘sustainability-linked’ financing for a coal mine operator in Germany, and traditional owners lodged a human rights lawsuit against 12 banks – including RBC – for involvement in a $4.7 billion gas project in Australia.

Despite net-zero commitments and public rhetoric, RBC continues to finance fossil fuel expansion, including bankrolling dangerous projects that attack Indigenous sovereignty, like the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline without consent from Wet’suwet’en Hereditary leadership. Many of RBC’s oil and gas clients increased overall emissions in 2022.

RBC is currently under investigation by the Competition Bureau of Canada for allegedly misleading consumers with climate-related advertising while continuing to increase financing for coal, oil and gas.

The report and RBC’s new role as the world’s worst bank on climate was covered by over 500 global media outlets, including:

• Axios Generate: Number of the day: $673 Billion By Ben German and Andrew Freedman
• Barron’s Banks Keep Pouring Cash Into Fossil Fuels. US Lenders Lead the Way. By Lauren Foster
• Bloomberg: RBC Becomes World’s Biggest Fossil Fuel Bank, Topping JP Morgan By Kevin Orland
• CTVNews: RBC biggest fossil fuel funder globally in 2022 at US$42B: report
• Environmental Finance: Japan’s Largest Banks Hit By Shareholder Climate Action By Genevieve Redgrave
• Euro News.green: BNP Paribas, Barclays: Europe’s biggest fossil fuel financiers – and who to bank with instead By Lottie Limb
• Financial News: Largest global banks provide $673bn to fossil fuel industry By Lauren Foster
• Financial Post: RBC tops list of global financiers to fossil fuel companies in 2022, says report by environmental groups By Barbara Shecter
• Financial Times: Royal Bank of Canada Becomes Top Financier for Fossil Fuel Industry By Attracta Mooney, Camilla Hodgson, Patrick Temple-West
• Global News Ca: Canadian Bank Reported as biggest fossil fuel funder in the World
• Marketwatch: Banks Keep Pouring Cash Into Fossil Fuels. US Lenders Lead the Way. By Lauren Foster
• Morning Star: North American Morning Briefing Provided by Dow Jones
• National Observer: RBC was the world’s top funder of fossil fuels in 2022, by John Woodside
• InsideClimate: Banks Say They’re Acting On Climate, But Continue to Finance Fossil Fuel Expansion By Nicholas Kusnetz
• Reuters: France’s Credit Mutuel to stop financing energy groups that aren’t cutting oil and gas output
• Sierra Magazine: Canada’s RBC Tops List of Banks Financing the Climate Crisis By Jonathan Hahn
• Yahoo! Finance: RBC surpasses JP Morgan in global fossil fuel financing in 2022: report By Jeff Lagerquist

Fossil Fuel Sector Trends (in USD)

Expansion: The 60 banks profiled in this report funneled $150 billion in 2022 into the top 100 companies expanding fossil fuels, including TC Energy, TotalEnergies, Venture Global, ConocoPhillips, and Saudi Aramco.

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG): The top bankers of liquefied “natural” gas (LNG) in 2022 were Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Mizuho, ING, Citi, and SMBC Group. Overall finance for LNG nearly doubled from $10.8 billion in 2021 to $21.3 billion in 2022.

Tar sands oil: The top tar sands companies received $21 billion in financing in 2022, led by the biggest Canadian banks, who provided 89% of those funds. TD, RBC, and Bank of Montreal top the list.

Arctic oil and gas: Chinese banks ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, and China Construction Bank led financing for Arctic oil and gas, which totaled $2.9 billion for the top companies in this sector in 2022. 26 banks are still financing Arctic oil and gas, including U.S. banks JPMorgan Chase, Citi, and Bank of America.

Amazon oil and gas: Spanish bank Santander leads financing for companies extracting in the Amazon biome, followed closely by U.S. bank Citi. Financing totaled $769 million in 2022.

Fracked oil and gas: Finance for the fracking companies totaled $67.0 billion dollars in 2022, which is an 8% increase over the financing reported in 2021 for the top fracking companies. This increase is especially disturbing given the extreme methane emissions from fracking. RBC and JPMorgan Chase are the top financiers of fracked oil and gas for 2022/since Paris.

Offshore oil and gas: European banks BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, and Japanese bank SMBC Group top the list of worst financiers of offshore oil and gas for 2022. Financing totaled $34 billion in 2022.

Coal mining: Of the $13.0 billion in financing that went to the world’s 30 largest coal mining companies, 87% was provided by banks located in China, led by China CITIC Bank, China Everbright Bank, and Industrial Bank.

Coal power: Of the financing to the world’s top 30 companies in coal power, 97% of financing was provided by Chinese banks. These companies, which have plans to expand coal power capacity, received $29.5 billion from the profiled banks in 2022.

Full data sets – including global press materials, fossil fuel finance data, policy scores, and stories from the frontlines – are available at bankingonclimatechaos.org.

RBC proved it has no interest in reconciliation, furthering corporate colonialism in how the bank treated the Indigenous delegation who arrived at the bank’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Saskatoon this morning as hundreds of Indigenous water protectors, young people, and allies rallied outside.

RBC’s AGM comes exactly one week after a large force of RCMP C-IRG raided a Gidimt’en village site, and arrested five land and water defenders, mostly Indigenous women. RBC is the primary financier of the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which lacks consent from Hereditary Chiefs, the rightful titleholders of the land.

Inside the AGM, a majority of the Indigenous delegation including Wet’suwet’en Hereditary leadership, Wet’suwet’en elders and youth representatives, and Gulf South representatives were barred from entering the AGM’s main room – despite having proper proxies, and threatening their arrest. An Ivey Business School student on behalf of youth-led Banking on a Better Future, as well as West Coast Environmental Law (WCEL) representatives were also barred from entering the main room to offer testimony.

The bank opted to apply a reserve system to its AGM, forcing Indigenous delegates into a second class room, with a colour coded pass.

Outside the shareholder meeting, hundreds of people rallied to urge RBC to stop greenwashing, respect Indigenous sovereignty, and phase out fossil fuel financing. There was drumming, music and statements from local groups, Indigenous delegates from across North America.

Nearly one in three shareholders supported a resolution for Indigenous Free, Prior, and Informed, Consent. While RBC executives recommended rejecting all shareholder resolutions introduced on climate action and Indigenous rights in its proxy book, these resolutions received record and growing support, including:

• 28% — representing about CAD$25 billion: Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), introduced a resolution for Free, Prior and Informed Consent;

• 11% — representing about CAD$10 billion: Stand.earth introduced a resolution for no financing for fossil fuel expansion;

• 22% — representing about CAD$22 billion: The New York City Comptroller, manager of the USD$242 billion pension funds, filed a resolution for 2030 absolute emissions reduction targets for oil, gas and utility clients.

Here is Stand.Earth’s Richard Brooks with an update from inside the meeting:

Media coverage is coming in. Here are some hits

• Canadian Press: RBC chief executive defends climate plan as shareholders criticize record

• Globe and Mail: RBC boss defends financing strategy relating to climate change

• ‘I believe in saving the land’: Protesters speak out in Saskatoon against banks’ fossil fuel project funding | The Star Phoenix

 

You can help amplify these tweets from the day:

• https://twitter.com/R_BrooksStand/status/1643703576773152768

• https://twitter.com/standearth/status/1643665034650812416

• https://twitter.com/ForOurKidsCAN/status/1643664544647254020

• https://twitter.com/MayaLillianM/status/1643669245719609345

• https://twitter.com/standearth/status/1643677200041009155

• https://twitter.com/bank4future/status/1643686640450248704

 

Watch the press conference here: https://fb.watch/jJxJ4k4qZA/

Press release: https://stand.earth/press-releases/rbc-agm-2023-pr/

Wow! Ahead of Royal Bank of Canada’s shareholder meeting this Wednesday, April 5 in Saskatoon, people across so-called Canada made a huge splash on Saturday for April 1 Fossil Fools’ Day!

This came days after federal police, the RCMP, raided a Gidimt’en village site and arrested Indigenous land defenders – mostly womxn – on bogus charges. As you may know, land defenders have been trying to stop the build out of the Coastal Gaslink fracked gas pipeline across Wet’suwet’en territory for years, delaying the project and causing huge cost overruns.

Thousands of people at over 40 actions rallied in solidarity at RBC branches including in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Toronto, Montréal, Moncton, Halifax, and more.

There were protests, lock downs and sit ins, pickets and creative rallies! Shout out to all the big organizing that everyone did. Too many groups to name here – we are so grateful for your leadership!

There were over 150 media stories including national TV and newspaper coverage and significant local media, including

• The Canadian Press

• CTV News

• Global TV

• Journal Metro (French)

This is part of a drumbeat of escalation and a brighter spotlight focused on Canada’s largest financier of fossil fuels and one of the biggest in the world – RBC.

Here’s an in-depth media story and an opinion piece on how shareholder meetings are a focus this year for climate and Indigenous rights advocates alike:

• CP/CTV: Banks face rising shareholder pressure through climate resolutions as AGMs loom

• Toronto Star: Canadian banks need to take ‘free, prior and informed consent’ seriously