RBC Climate Action Institute releases annual climate action report

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 10^th 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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?
6. 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.