According to a study by Oxfam Canada, about 1. 9 billion tonnes of emissions were funded in 2020 by eight of the country’s top financial institutions.
Oxfam Canada, which produced the report in collaboration with non-profit research group l’Institut de recherche en economie contemporaine, says the total is more than double the total carbon footprint of Canada as a whole.
The analysis expands on studies like the Banking on Climate Chaos report, which revealed the hundreds of billions of dollars that banks have contributed to financing fossil fuels.
Institutions covered in the Oxfam Canada report include TD, RBC, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC, National Bank, Desjardins and Laurentian Bank, with TD topping the list by funding the equivalent of 446 million tonnes of carbon dioxide followed by RBC at 369 million tonnes.
The largest banks in Canada have made a commitment to achieve net zero financed emissions by 2050, but they have also discussed the value of continuing to fund the fossil fuel industry during the transition to neutral emissions.
Oxfam Canada says emission reduction projects are hugely overshadowed by emitting ones, with about five tonnes in emission savings through the funding of things like renewable energy and efficiencies for every 100 tonnes of greenhouse gasses the banks have financed..
According to a 2020 Oxfam Canada analysis, big banks sponsored 1.9 billion tonnes of carbon.
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