CALGARY — Two executives from Royal Bank of Canada say financial institutions will need to invest not just in green energy companies, but also in the fossil fuel industry, if Canada is to meet its climate change targets.

RBC Capital Markets CEO Derek Neldner and RBC’s head of ESG and Strategic Initiatives Lindsay Patrick were in Calgary Tuesday for an energy conference.

Neldner said RBC believes it will cost Canada $2 trillion to achieve its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

He said private sector investments and government incentives will be required to get there.

Environmental groups have called on Canada’s big banks to reduce their lending to the oil and gas sector. A report by Rainforest Action Network shows RBC has spent $201 billion between 2016 and 2021 on lending to and underwriting fossil fuel companies.

But Patrick said investing in “green” companies alone won’t take Canada to net-zero. She says there’s growing recognition among banks that they must also lend to oil and gas companies to support their efforts to clean up their operations and reduce, if not eliminate, the sector’s emissions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2022.

Companies in this story: (TSX:RY)

The Canadian Press

News from © The Canadian Press, 2022. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

  • 0079 Ministry of Energy Business_incentive PO
    0079 Ministry of Energy Business_incentive PO
  • 0078 LHOS 2024
    0078 LHOS 2024
  • 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
    0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
  • 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda
    0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda
  • 0076 Latus only
    0076 Latus only
  • 0073 SaskWorks-Pipeline Online
    0073 SaskWorks-Pipeline Online
  • 0063 Turnbull Excavating hiring crusher
    0063 Turnbull Excavating hiring crusher
  • 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
    0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
  • 0058 Royal Helium Steveville opens anonymous rocket
    0058 Royal Helium Steveville opens anonymous rocket
  • 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
    0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
  • 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
    0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
  • 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
    0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
  • 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
    0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
  • 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
    0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
  • 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
  • 0022 Grimes winter hiring
  • 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
  • 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
  • 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
  • 0011
  • 0006 JK Junior
  • 0002 gilliss casing services
    0002 gilliss casing services
  • 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
    9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
  • 9001