New York City comptroller Brad Lander and three of the city's pension funds are offering shareholder proposals calling on several banks including Royal Bank of Canada to disclose absolute greenhouse gas emissions targets for 2030.
The shareholder proposals call for an absolute reduction target aligned with a science-based net-zero emissions pathway and request a report within one year.
The pension funds backing the plan are the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System, and Board of Education Retirement System, which combined hold 293,000 shares of Royal Bank of Canada as of November 2022.
The proposals filed at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Royal Bank of Canada request the absolute GHG emissions targets cover lending and underwriting for oil and gas and power generation sectors.
An RBC spokesperson said in an email that the bank is committed to achieving net zero in its lending by 2050, and has established interim emissions reduction targets informed by science, which are expected to evolve over time.
At Bank of America, the proposal co-filed with the New York State Common Retirement Fund asks the emissions reduction targets cover lending and underwriting in the company’s energy sector.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2023.
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