RBC Climate Action Institute releases
annual climate action report
TORONTO, Jan. 14,
2025 /CNW/ - Canada can make a significant dent
in carbon emissions over the next decade by growing and
decarbonizing the country's electricity grids, new research from
the RBC Climate Action Institute finds. Decarbonizing Canada's electricity grids would reduce
emissions, drive economic benefit, and contribute to energy
security. Meanwhile, despite a combination of policy, capital and
consumer action driving climate progress over the past five years,
the pace of change is slowing. As we approach the 10th
anniversary of the 2015 Paris Agreement, different models, and new
paradigms for thinking about climate are critical if we are to make
real progress.
These findings and more can be found in the RBC Climate Action
Institute's annual report: Climate Action 2025: a year for
rewiring. The research provides a unique perspective on
Canada's climate progress,
including new survey and interview data that reveal how businesses
and consumers are feeling about the state of climate progress in
Canada. Informed by the
Institute's team of researchers, Climate Action 2025: a year for
rewiring questions whether Canada
is on track to meet its climate commitments, while at the same
time, highlighting bright-spots in several sectors.
"2025 is shaping up to be a year of climate uncertainty.
Political change and economic frustration have challenged how
businesses and governments are thinking about climate action, but
these same forces also offer opportunities to advance our
collective approaches in a new global reality,"
– John Stackhouse, SVP, Office of
the CEO, RBC.
Some of the key findings from this second annual assessment of
Canadian climate action include:
- Climate action has nearly doubled in the last 5 years.
According to the Institute's Climate Action Barometer, policy,
capital and consumers have driven a near doubling of climate action
in Canada over the past five
years.
- Canada is not on course to
meet its climate targets. Emissions fell by 0.8% in 2023, led
by progress in the electricity sector. However, at this pace,
government projections suggest that Canada will not meet the targets in its 2030
Emission Reduction Plan until 2035.
- Climate investment is slowing. Cleantech investments in
heavy industry fell dramatically in 2024. Venture capital financing
slowed to $158 million in the year,
compared to a combined $650 million
on average in the previous two years, partly due to an overall
global downturn in investment flows and faltering investor
sentiment around cleantech.
- Alberta is at the forefront
of Canadian climate action. Alberta's removal of more than six megatonnes
of coal-based emissions drove national electricity emissions lower
by about 12%. The province is now coal-free—six years ahead of
schedule.
- Concern over climate change is waning among Canadians.
Approximately 14% of Canadians cited climate change as one of their
top 3 concerns—compared to 26% in 2019. What will this mean for
where climate will sit on the country's political agenda?
- Canadian businesses see themselves on the frontlines of
climate action. According to our survey, over half of
executives identified government subsidies (55%), internal funding
(53%), and C-suite buy-in (50%) as the most significant factors for
driving emissions reduction in their organizations.
This research by RBC's Climate Action Institute offers a
comprehensive view of Canadian climate progress to date. The
Institute surveyed 2,000 Canadians and 100 Canadian business
leaders for their views on climate action, providing a unique
perspective on how attitudes towards climate are evolving. The
Institute also developed the Climate Action Barometer – a
proprietary tool that combines industry scores for Policy, Capital,
Action & Sentiment, Emissions and Technology to track
economy-wide climate progress. Tying this in-depth research
together, images throughout the report were the result of a
Canada-wide photography program
that highlights climate action on-the-ground, across the
country.
Climate Action 2025: a year for rewiring also showcases several
companies pursuing solutions for reducing emissions in a series of
case studies. From Canada Nickel, a Canadian mining company finding
new ways to sequester carbon as it extracts ore, to Semex, a
Canadian agriculture company reducing methane emissions in dairy
cattle – the report highlights the important, often behind the
scenes ways that companies are helping Canada achieve its climate goals.
Read the full Climate Action 2025 report.
About the RBC Climate Action Institute (The
Institute)
The Institute strives to bring together research
insights and industry experts to help clients and communities apply
climate solutions. The Institute has a three-part mandate:
- Inform and inspire: Leverage RBC's thought leadership
capabilities to inform policy and inspire action towards a net-zero
future in Canada.
- Engage decision makers: Help convene key stakeholders to
discuss ideas and develop pragmatic climate solutions.
- Facilitate bold action: Work with industry partners to
help clients and communities apply climate solutions.
Since its launch in April 2023,
the Institute has published over twenty research papers on topics
ranging from electricity regulations to mass timber. The Institute
has engaged with governments, industries and community groups to
share insights and ideas and its heard, and learned from, Canadians
at the forefront of climate change. The Institute has also helped
launch two groups—the Canadian Alliance for Net- Zero Agrifood
and the Climate Smart Buildings Alliance—to help develop private
sector strategies to reduce emissions. You can find out more about
the Institute on the Institute website.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with
a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading
performance. Our success comes from the 98,000+ employees who
leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision,
values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and
communities prosper. As Canada's
biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market
capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus
on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our more
than 18 million clients in Canada,
the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com.
We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives
through donations, community investments and employee volunteer
activities. See how at rbc.com/peopleandplanet.
For more information, please
contact:
kyle.english@rbc.com
SOURCE RBC
