The CEOs of Canada’s five largest banks insist they are serious about funding the transition to low-carbon energy, but told a parliamentary committee on Thursday they have no intention of cutting off financing for the oil and gas industry.have all set targets to get to net-zero emissions from their own operations and those of their clients by 2050.
“When will you stop greenwashing and double-speak with climate plans, when really you’re the companies pouring fuel on the fire?” Mr. Green said.. He said 80 per cent of RBC’s oil and gas clients are formulating strategies to make the shift, and RBC is providing financing and resources to help them. Mr. Masrani said the bank must support the oil and gas industry and its efforts to decarbonize, while providing the necessary capital to help the country achieve its net-zero goals. “We are a great believer in an orderly transition, and we have to do both,” he said.
Calling their stated efforts a “$2-trillion-dollar placebo,” the activist group cited equity and debt financing deals billed under the banner of sustainability that, it said, resulted in increased fossil-fuel production and greenhouse gas emissions.