RBC and wildfires
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
Why is RBC continuing to fuel climate destruction?
By now, you know all about the devastating fires that are spreading across Canada, burning up hundreds of thousands of hectares of land, threatening communities, and forcing evacuations. But, did you know that Canada’s biggest bank RBC is fueling this destruction?
The connection is simple. RBC is the biggest financier of fossil fuel companies in Canada – the very ones that are most responsible for worsening the climate emergency and the extreme weather events we are witnessing.
And yet, RBC is continuing to sink more and more money into dangerous coal, oil and gas companies. It’s as if the unprecedented heat dome and the hundreds of out-of-control wildfires across Canada aren’t a sufficient reminder of the need to act.
We need to turn up the pressure on RBC, so we’ve put together an easy-to-use tool that lets you record a short video message to RBC’s CEO David McKay.
RECORD YOUR MESSAGE
Dave McKay says that “Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our times” [1], and yet his bank continues to prop up oil, gas, and coal companies that are directly contributing to the wildfires devastating communities across the country.
For example, RBC continues to finance loans to pipeline company Enbridge. Despite fierce on-the-ground opposition by Indigenous water protectors, Enbridge is pushing ahead with the Line 3 tar sands pipeline that, if completed, would contribute as much damage to our climate as 50 new coal-fired power plants, violate Indigenous sovereignty, and endanger the sacred wild rice beds of the Anishinaabe people.
Since the 2016 Paris Agreement was signed, RBC has poured over $208 billion into oil, gas, and even coal companies. This is at a time when the International Energy Agency, the globally-recognized leader in energy systems modelling, has made it clear that there is no longer any need to invest in or construct new fossil fuel supply projects. [2]
A company that has 17 million customers may think it is invincible, but at Stand.earth, we know that even the largest companies out there can be moved to do the right thing. The key ingredient is massive public pressure that outmaneuvers their endless greenwashing. Sending a personal video message to RBC’s CEO would help ramp up the pressure on Canada’s worst fossil fuel funder and make it clear that the time to act is now.
If we can stop the flow of money from RBC to the world’s dirtiest and most dangerous companies, we can stop the expansion of fossil fuel projects. As the devastating wildfires continue to burn across Canada, the need for immediate action from RBC simply could not be any more clear.
With hope,
Richard Brooks
Climate Finance Director
Stand.earth
[1] https://rbcrevealed.com/
[2] https://www.stand.earth/latest/climate-finance/iea-special-report-shows-all-new-fossil-fuel-projects-should-be-stopped
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