Canada’s biggest bank, RBC, facing shareholder action

RBC is funding some seriously damaging fossil fuel projects. They’re trampling on Wet’suwet’en and Ojibwe land (among others). They’ve invested C$208 billion into fossil fuels since the Paris Climate Agreement was signed. They’re the world’s 12th biggest coal funder, with C$14 billion in new coal. Which all together makes them the 5th biggest fossil fuel funder in the world!

To answer to all this, RBC CEO, Dave McKay just said  “Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our times.”.

Now, shareholders at RBC are calling out Dave McKay’s greenwashing. They’re launching formal action to stop the bank calling its fossil fuel financing ‘sustainable’. The shareholder resolution is demanding that RBC “update its criteria for ‘sustainable finance.’” and that it shouldn’t include any projects facing significant opposition from indigenous peoples.

 

RBC are facing tonnes of opposition. But this resolution, organised by Investors for Paris Compliance, or I4PC, was prompted by RBC’s role helping fossil fuel giant Enbridge get money for building a new section of its Line 3 oil sands pipeline, a project that would, by some estimates, add as much CO₂ to the atmosphere each year as Argentina. It was opposed by indigenous peoples in Minnesota who feared the desecration of their lands and waters. Not only did RBC help them get money, but they even tried to call is sustainable.

 

Read more here:

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/canada-s-biggest-bank-faces-shareholder-vote-on-climate-standards-1.1724627#