Scotiabank, RBC Scrap Interim Net-Zero Targets, Say Goals Not Reasonably Achievable

People walk past the Royal Bank Tower in Montreal on June 19, 2025. The Canadian Press/Christopher Katsarov

RBC and Scotiabank both say they are abandoning previously set interim emissions reduction goals they had committed to hit by 2030, calling them no longer reasonably achievable.

Both banks previously committed in 2022 to lowering financed emissions in key sectors including electricity generation, oil and gas, and the automotive industry by 2030, as part of a broader strategy for aligning their portfolios with net-zero financed emissions by 2050.

In their latest sustainability reports, both released April 16, the two banks said a number of key factors have made it unfeasible to stick to their 2030 goals.

RBC Drops 2030 Goals, Scotiabank Drops 2030 and 2050 Commitments

For its part, RBC’s report said geopolitical uncertainty, global energy demand, and public policy trends have made the targets unrealistic, but said it is still planning to achieve net-zero financed emissions by 2050. However, the bank added the 2050 goal depends closely on the direction of government policy and technological advances.

The bank adds that it is committed to being a leader in a future low-carbon economy and renewable energy, while still keeping up its investments in conventional energy such as oil and gas.

Scotiabank’s report notes that it has discontinued a commitment to hit both 2030 and 2050 reduction goals for net-zero financed admissions as progress on climate policy has not met earlier projections.

The bank added that parts of the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States along with policy shifts in Canada such as pausing the consumer carbon tax and ongoing uncertainty around the proposed oil and gas emissions cap factored into its decision. Scotiabank also said that a surging demand for electricity driven partly by the energy needs of the growing artificial intelligence sector and slow progress on carbon capture technologies contributed to its decision to scrap net-zero financed emissions targets.

Despite stepping back from its 2030 and 2050 targets, Scotiabank said it continues to be focused on sustainability and climate change in its banking decisions, saying it has given $40 billion in climate-related financing amounting to $212 billion in total since 2019.

Scotiabank says it remains committed to sustainability, adding that it has implemented an “Energy Supply Ratio” tool for keeping track of the mix of its financing of conventional energy and low-carbon investments.

Net-Zero Banking Alliance

In mid-January of last year, Scotiabank and several other major Canadian banks withdrew from the U.N.-backed Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), followed by RBC later that month. The NZBA, which announced it was ceasing operations in October 2025, was a framework in which member banks committed to align their lending and investment decisions with a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The exit of the Canadian banks came on the heels of the departure of the six biggest banks in the United States prior to the swearing in of U.S. President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, 2025.

Several U.S. Republican politicians were critical of the NZBA, with Congressman Andy Barr saying it was developed to “weaponize the financial system and politicize it to choke off funding to legal fossil energy businesses.”

In announcing its departure last January, CIBC said it had committed to the alliance at a time when climate initiatives were a global priority, but the landscape has progressed sufficiently for the institution to pursue its objectives independently.

The Canadian Press and Jennifer Cowan contributed to this report.