TORONTO – RBC has quit the UN-backed Net-Zero Banking Alliance, leaving none of Canada’s Big Six banks represented in the group.
Canada’s largest bank confirmed the move Friday, saying it has the tools and capabilities to implement its climate strategy and measure its performance.
RBC’s decision to leave comes only days after it was ranked by Bloomberg New Energy Finance as having the worst ratio of clean energy to fossil fuel funding among major global banks.
The bank’s departure from the group, which aims to accelerate climate action among financial institutions, follows Canada’s other big banks leaving the group in the days before and after U.S. President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20.
The Canadian banks started withdrawing not long after the six largest banks in the U.S. did the same as Trump’s presidential inauguration loomed.
Financial institutions have been pulling back after sustained criticism from U.S. Republicans on various climate alliances and the very concept of factoring environmental risks into their business operations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2025.
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