The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) was the world’s largest funder of oil and gas projects in 2022, nudging out US giant JP Morgan Chase, according to a new report by a coalition of environmental groups including the Rainforest Action Network and the Sierra Club.. The ‘Dirty Dozen’ oil and gas banks 2022 .That either makes it the world’s largest environmental offender or alternatively the planet’s biggest investor in responsible, ethically produced oil and gas, according to Banking on Climate Chaos, which produced the report..In it, RBC funded $42.1 billion US of fossil fuel developments last year followed by JP Morgan at $39.2 billion. It was the first year since 2015 that it hasn’t taken top spot. RBC’s largest customers were the Canada Development Investment Corp. and Enbridge Inc. while JP’s biggest was Calgary-based TC Energy Corp..Three of Canada’s Big Six banks made the top 10, with Scotiabank sitting in seventh with $29.4 billion and TD in eighth with $29 billion. TD, RBC and Bank of Montreal were also the largest oil sands financiers, providing a combined $20.9 billion or 89% of it last year..Nonetheless, data from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce last year showed Canadian banks reduced their overall exposure to oil and gas by more than 50% since 2016 when the Paris climate accord was reached..An RBC spokesman told the Canadian Press the bank remains committed to a net zero lending strategy by 2050 but also supports an “orderly transition” to reaching that goal..“We are committed to achieving net-zero in our lending by 2050 and have established interim emissions reduction targets that will help us drive action and measure progress. These targets are informed by science and reflect a measured and deliberate approach to climate action.”. Oil and gas financing .That hasn’t stopped environmental groups from targeting Canada’s financial sector and RBC is often singled out by climate activists, in part because it is Canada’s largest bank. On April 1 protesters gathered around RBC locations in Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Vancouver to mark what it called “fossil fools day” and targeted the bank’s annual meeting in Saskatoon on April 5..As reported by the Western Standard Wet’suwet’en matriarch Janet Williams, who wanted to voice her opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline — which is also being funded by RBC — was denied entry to the AGM..Despite the criticism, CEO David MacKay defended the institution’s lending policies specifically with respect to climate change, telling investors: “An insecure journey will be significantly inflationary if we stop producing fossil fuels… We do not have enough wind, solar, nuclear and hydro power right now to keep our society going. And therefore, if we’re not smart about this, we risk that journey.”
