RBC is the world’s top financer of fossil fuel development

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) was the biggest fossil fuel financer in the world in 2022, with funds reaching $42 billion, the annual Banking on Climate Chaos report showed.

The bank became the fifth largest fossil fuel funder with its funding between 2016 and 2021, the report highlights.

JPMorgan was the top financer to the fossil fuel industry in 2021, with funding reaching $67 billion, to then be surpassed by RBC in 2022, while Scotiabank ranked ninth, with $29.5 billion in funding, according to the report.

RBC’s chief executive, Dave McKay, emphasized the importance of energy security and the steady transition from fossil fuel funding during the bank’s annual shareholder meeting last week.

“We are actively working with government, our clients and many other stakeholders to achieve a net-zero economy,” McKay added.

McKay further said “our bank believes the transformation to net zero must be orderly and inclusive to be successful, recognising the significant changes that need to occur in our day-to-day lives and our economies, and in how we consume energy and resources.”

RBC becoming the world’s largest fossil fuel funder proves that bankers cannot be trusted to do the right thing when it comes to climate change, they need regulations, said Greenpeace Canada senior energy strategist, Keith Stewart.

Environmental activists have been pressuring banks to cut their fossil fuel funding in order to hinder building new oil and gas projects and complete the transition to net zero emissions.