“Promises Abandoned”: How RBC Walked Back Its Climate Commitments

RBC’s board says the bank’s climate progress is “on track.” The reality is that the bank no longer has an emissions target against which to track.

In April 2026, Canada’s largest bank – and largest public company by both market cap and by revenue – abandoned its 2030 lending emissions targets (Royal Bank of Canada [RBC], Sustainability Report 2025, p. 42). Those targets aimed to cut the emissions intensity of the oil and gas producers, power generators and automakers RBC finances (RBC, Sustainability Report 2024, pp. 50–51). They were the only near-term targets RBC had set for the emissions its lending finances (RBC, Sustainability Report 2024, pp. 50–51; Sustainability Report 2025, p. 42). Meanwhile, its fossil fuel financing actually went up. 

In 2025, RBC committed US$36.6 billion to fossil fuel companies, 8.2 per cent more than in 2024, making it the world’s seventh-largest bank financier of fossil fuels (Corporate Knights, 2026; Canada’s National Observer, 2026). 

Every climate commitment RBC made was voluntary – but calculated to signal the bank took climate change and GHG emissions seriously. Between January 2025 and October 2026, the bank shed most of the ones that could be measured. Its fossil fuel financing grew, and its board kept rating its progress “on track” (RBC, Management Proxy Circular 2024, p. 75; Management Proxy Circular 2025, p. 87; Management Proxy Circular 2026, pp. 81, 83). 

This report card draws on RBC’s own sustainability reports, climate disclosures and proxy circulars, supplemented with relevant news coverage.  

Note: We use the word “abandoned” to describe commitments RBC made publicly, but then announced it was no longer pursuing, including some where it had made some progress – but not achieved the promise, or, in most cases, made no meaningful progress towards them before walking away.

What RBC Promised

In 2014, RBC set specific environmental targets for 2018, from property emissions to office paper use (RBC, Environmental Blueprint, 2014, pp. 6–8). It reported meeting six of the seven; the one it missed was an energy-efficiency target for its data centres (RBC, ESG Performance Report & Public Accountability Statement 2018, p. 80).

The bigger promises came after 2019, when RBC pledged $500 billion in sustainable finance by 2025 (RBC, ESG Performance Report 2020, p. 3) and a 70 per cent cut in its operational emissions by the same year (RBC, Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures Report 2020, p. 10). 

In October 2021, it joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, which required interim targets for high-emitting sectors (ESG Today, 2025; RBC, ESG Progress Report 2023, p. 19). RBC set them in 2022 (RBC, Climate Report 2022, p. 22). For its oil and gas clients, it aimed to cut operational emissions intensity by 35 per cent by 2030. It aimed to cut the intensity of emissions from burning the fuel those clients sell by 11 to 27 per cent (Reuters, 2022; RBC, Climate Report 2022, p. 22). 

In 2022, the year it set those targets, RBC also financed more fossil fuel activity than any other bank in the world: US$42.1 billion, according to the Banking on Climate Chaos report (Oil Change International, 2023). RBC disputed the ranking (Yahoo Finance Canada, 2023).

In 2023, RBC added a $35-billion low-carbon energy lending goal (RBC, ESG Progress Report 2023, p. 14) and tied part of executive pay to climate progress (RBC, Management Proxy Circular 2024, p. 37). 

In 2024, it agreed to publish an energy supply ratio comparing its low-carbon and high-carbon energy financing. In return, New York City’s pension funds withdrew a shareholder proposal demanding the same thing (RBC, Management Proxy Circular 2025, p. 119).

Twenty-one months

On January 31, 2025, RBC left the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, the last of the Big Six to go (Bloomberg Law, 2025). Its 2024 Sustainability Report, published three months later, mentions the exit once, in an endnote (RBC, Sustainability Report 2024, p. 105, endnote 28).

That report did most of the damage. RBC abandoned the 2021 $500-billion commitment to sustainable finance, saying it “may not have appropriately measured certain of our sustainable finance activities” (RBC, Sustainability Report 2024, p. 42). It had previously claimed $393.9 billion toward the goal (RBC, ESG Progress Report 2023, p. 14). It also stopped reporting progress on the $35-billion low-carbon energy goal (RBC, Sustainability Report 2024, p. 48). 

The promised energy supply ratio did not appear (RBC, Sustainability Report 2024, p. 48). RBC also abandoned its 70 per cent operational goal, at 63 per cent (RBC, Sustainability Report 2024, p. 56).

RBC blamed the Competition Act (RBC, Sustainability Report 2024, pp. 42, 48). Amendments passed in June 2024 required environmental claims to be backed by “internationally recognized methodology” (MLT Aikins, 2026). Ecojustice lawyer Tanya Jemec countered that the law does “not stop companies from making claims about their business that can be adequately substantiated” (Investment Executive, 2025), a view echoed by Quinn Professor of Sustainability at Queens, and green-washing expert Professor Wren Montgomery. 

Regardless, Ottawa changed the law. On March 26, 2026 Bill C-15 received royal assent which removed the methodology requirement (Competition Bureau Canada, n.d.). RBC’s next report came weeks later. It resumed reporting on the $35-billion clean energy goal, claiming $29 billion (RBC, Sustainability Report 2025, p. 42). It restored none of the abandoned commitments. Instead, it abandoned its 2030 targets, concluding that “the changing and uncertain operating environment makes some of our Interim Targets not reasonably achievable and the outlook for others unclear” (RBC, Sustainability Report 2025, p. 42).

The energy supply ratio arrived on September 3, 2026, without a target (RBC, Energy Supply Ratios, 2026, p. 2). SHARE, which had pressed for the disclosure for years, called it “not the finish line, it’s the starting point” (SHARE, 2026). On October 30 (ten days ago), RBC replaced its sustainable finance framework with a methodology that reports annual volumes and sets no target (RBC, Environmental and Social Finance Reporting, 2026, pp. 2–3). They then fired the Vice President and the 9 member team responsible after creating the structure it had just adopted.

What the numbers show

RBC’s 2025 report says financed emissions from its oil and gas lending fell 16 per cent from 2023, to 63.9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (RBC, Sustainability Report 2025, pp. 42, 49). A year earlier, the same metric showed a 1 per cent decline (RBC, Sustainability Report 2024, p. 15). A restatement explains most of the jump. RBC raised its 2023 baseline from 68.6 to 76.2 million tonnes, partly to reflect its HSBC Canada acquisition, and cut its 2024 figure from 68.2 to 63.9 million tonnes (RBC, Sustainability Report 2025, p. 49). On the restated numbers, oil and gas financed emissions didn’t actually move between 2024 and 2025.

RBC’s methodology counts its share of a client’s emissions based on its share of that client’s enterprise value. As oil and gas valuations rose, RBC’s attributed share fell, even as clients’ estimated emissions went up (RBC, Sustainability Report 2025, pp. 49–50). 

The intensity figures show how far off course RBC was. Against a 35 per cent target, it had cut its oil and gas clients’ operational emissions intensity by 8 per cent since 2019. End-use intensity was down 0.1 per cent on restated figures. Before the restatement, RBC had reported it rising, from 71.0 to 74.4 grams of CO2e per megajoule (RBC, Sustainability Report 2025, p. 50). At the end of fiscal 2025, RBC lent 57 cents to low-carbon energy for every dollar it lent to high-carbon energy (RBC, Energy Supply Ratios, 2026, pp. 3, 5).

Who was checking

Since 2023, RBC’s board has been able to adjust executive pay based on climate progress (RBC, Management Proxy Circular 2024, p. 37). It has judged RBC “on track” three years running and left pay untouched (RBC, Management Proxy Circular 2024, p. 75; Management Proxy Circular 2025, p. 87; Management Proxy Circular 2026, pp. 81, 83). The latest assessment covered fiscal 2025, the year RBC left the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and abandoned its $500-billion goal. Shareholder pressure has faded too. The 2023 proxy circular carried four climate proposals. The 2026 circular carries one (RBC, Management Proxy Circular 2023, pp. 105–115; Management Proxy Circular 2026, p. 115).

RBC says it remains “committed to sustainable finance” (RBC, Sustainability Report 2024, p. 42). It kept its 2050 net-zero goal and its $35-billion low-carbon goal (RBC, Sustainability Report 2025, pp. 42–43). It published its energy supply ratio while TD and BMO still have not, and it counts natural gas and LNG as fossil fuel financing (SHARE, 2026).  

RBC’s commitments were voluntary, and nothing made it keep them. No public consequence followed its exit from the alliance, and the board’s pay lever never moved. 

The Competition Act explains the pause in disclosure. It doesn’t explain why the targets stayed abandoned once the law changed.

The bank now says net-zero lending by 2050 will require “a supportive external environment, including government policy” (RBC, Sustainability Report 2025, p. 43). Under Carney, that policy is moving the other way, so this is, at best, an empty promise with a built-in excuse.

In October 2024, Ottawa proposed mandatory climate disclosure for large private companies (Fasken, 2024). Budget 2026 speaks only of “supporting voluntary climate disclosures” (Government of Canada, Budget 2026, p. 141). RBC still publishes its financed emissions and its energy supply ratio. It measures neither against a target. Between now and 2050, there is simply no number to which any anyone can hold the bank – or its Board.

Grade: FAIL

References

Bloomberg Law. (2025, January 31). RBC quits climate group as Canada’s top banks follow Wall Street. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-and-business/rbc-quits-climate-group-as-canadas-top-banks-follow-wall-street

Canada’s National Observer. (2026, June 19). Canadian banks rank among world’s top fossil fuel financiers. https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/06/19/news/canada-banks-fossil-fuel-financing

Competition Bureau Canada. (n.d.). Environmental claims and the Competition Act. Government of Canada. https://competition-bureau.canada.ca/node/596

Corporate Knights. (2026, June 9). Banks up the ante on fossil fuels — again. https://corporateknights.com/finance/banks-up-the-ante-on-fossil-fuels-again/

ESG Today. (2025). Canadian banks follow U.S. peers out of Net Zero Banking Alliance. https://www.esgtoday.com/canadian-banks-follow-u-s-peers-out-of-net-zero-banking-alliance/

Fasken. (2024, October). Proposed mandatory sustainability reporting and sustainable investment guidelines. https://fasken.com/en/knowledge/2024/10/proposed-mandatory-sustainability-reporting-and-sustainable-investment-guidelines

Government of Canada. (2026, November 5). Budget 2026: Masters of our destiny. Department of Finance Canada. https://budget.canada.ca/2026/report-rapport/pdf/budget-2026.pdf

Investment Executive. (2025). RBC scraps sustainable finance commitment. https://www.investmentexecutive.com/news/research-and-markets/rbc-scraps-sustainable-finance-commitment/

MLT Aikins. (2026). Federal government narrows scope of the Competition Act’s anti-greenwashing provisions as Bill C-15 receives royal assent. https://www.mltaikins.com/insights/federal-government-narrows-scope-of-the-competition-acts-anti-greenwashing-provisions-as-bill-c-15-receives-royal-assent/

Oil Change International. (2023, April 13). Banking on climate chaos 2023. https://oilchange.org/publications/banking-on-climate-chaos-2023/

Reuters. (2022, October 26). Royal Bank of Canada eyes 2030 emission cuts in lending portfolio. Investing.com. https://investing.com/news/stock-market-news/royal-bank-of-canada-eyes-2030-emission-cuts-in-lending-portfolio-2922471

Royal Bank of Canada. (2014). RBC environmental blueprint. https://bac-lac.wayback.archive-it.org/web/20181214002211/http://www.rbc.com/community-sustainability/_assets-custom/pdf/RBC-Environmental-Blueprint.pdf

Royal Bank of Canada. (2019). Environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance report & public accountability statement 2018. https://www.rbc.com/community-social-impact/_assets-custom/pdf/2018-ESG-Report.PDF

Royal Bank of Canada. (2021). Environment, social and governance (ESG) performance report 2020. https://www.rbc.com/community-social-impact/_assets-custom/pdf/2020-ESG-Report.PDF

Royal Bank of Canada. (2021). Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures report 2020. https://www.rbc.com/our-impact/_assets-custom/pdf/RBC-TCFD-Report-2020.pdf

Royal Bank of Canada. (2023). Climate report 2022: Guided by the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. https://www.rbc.com/our-impact/_assets-custom/pdf/RBC-Climate-Report-2022.PDF

Royal Bank of Canada. (2023). Management proxy circular: Notice of annual and special meeting of common shareholders, April 5, 2023. https://www.rbc.com/investor-relations/_assets-custom/pdf/2023englishproxy.pdf

Royal Bank of Canada. (2024). Environmental, social and governance (ESG) progress report 2023: Powering ideas for people and planet. https://www.rbc.com/community-sustainability/_assets-custom/pdf/esg-progress-report-2023.pdf

Royal Bank of Canada. (2024). Management proxy circular: Notice of annual meeting of common shareholders, April 11, 2024. https://www.rbc.com/investor-relations/_assets-custom/pdf/2024englishproxy.pdf

Royal Bank of Canada. (2025). Management proxy circular: Notice of annual and special meeting of common shareholders, April 10, 2025. https://www.rbc.com/investor-relations/_assets-custom/pdf/2025englishproxy.pdf

Royal Bank of Canada. (2025). Sustainability report 2024. https://www.rbc.com/investor-relations/_assets-custom/pdf/RBC-2024-sustainability-report.pdf

Royal Bank of Canada. (2026). Management proxy circular: Notice of annual meeting of common shareholders, April 9, 2026. https://www.rbc.com/investor-relations/_assets-custom/pdf/2026englishproxy.pdf

Royal Bank of Canada. (2026). RBC energy supply ratios. https://www.rbc.com/investor-relations/_assets-custom/pdf/RBC-Energy-Supply-Ratios-EN.pdf

Royal Bank of Canada. (2026). RBC’s environmental and social finance reporting. https://www.rbc.com/our-impact/sustainability-reporting

Royal Bank of Canada. (2026). Sustainability report 2025: Ideas for people and planet. https://www.rbc.com/our-impact/_assets-custom/pdf/RBC-2025-sustainability-report.pdf

SHARE. (2026, September 3). RBC releases Energy Supply Finance Ratio, marking a new milestone for investor transparency. https://share.ca/blog/rbc-energy-supply-finance-ratio/

Yahoo Finance Canada. (2023). RBC surpasses JP Morgan in global fossil fuel financing in 2022: Report. https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/rbc-surpasses-jp-morgan-global-fossil-fuel-financing-2022-report-110019374.html