FINANCE

Calculating the CO2e value of finances is less clear than many other areas, such as switching from a gas car to an electric car. To start with, few banks have comprehensive CO2e reports, though all Canadian banks have committed to do so within the next few years. In 2021, Vancity, Canada’s largest community credit union, became the first major financial institution in Canada to release its CO2e report. 

What we do know is that Canada’s largest banks remain some of the biggest lenders to oil and gas companies in the world. From 2016-2021, major Canadian banks funneled more than $900 billion dollars into the oil and gas industry, accounting for about 15% of total global financing. Notably, the major Canadian banks are actually increasing their investment in oil and gas, despite their claims to be moving towards “net zero” by 2050. Investments from Canadian banks in oil and gas were 70% higher in 2021 than in 2020, the largest increase in financed emissions globally. 

Globally, banks in Canada are the fourth largest lender and the fourth largest investor into the coal industry, providing more than $20 billion in loans and more than $40 billion in shares and bonds to this most polluting of industries (2018-2020). 

There are two types of action you can take to reduce the CO2e emissions of your money:

1. Move your money from a bank to a credit union. This includes money you have in accounts and any loans you have with the bank, including mortgages.

2. Divest from investments in heavily CO2e polluting industries such as oil and gas companies. This includes stocks, mutual funds, bonds and any other investment type.

Sources:

https://www.vancity.com/AboutVancity/News/MediaReleases/VancityDisclosesCarbonFootprint/
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-picture-of-greenhouse-gases-tied-to-canadian-lending-is-taking-shape/
https://www.banktrack.org/article/groundbreaking_research_reveals_the_financiers_of_the_coal_industry
https://below2c.org/2021/02/canadas-banks-among-the-dirty-thirty-lenders-to-global-coal-industry/
https://www.bankingonclimatechaos.org/
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/green-living-blog/2010/sep/16/carbon-footprint-mortgage