Royal Bank Withholds ANWR Financing

Friday, 2 October 2020 14:02

The banking industry is increasingly distancing itself from drilling in the Arctic Refuge, even as the U.S. Government pushes to hold a lease sale there. Last month Gwich’in and environmental groups filed two lawsuits challenging the U.S. Government’s approval of oil leasing.

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) announced today that it will withhold financing for oil and gas extraction in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. RBC is the first Canadian bank to enact a policy on the Arctic Refuge, following the lead of major banks in the United States and overseas.

RBC’s commitment comes at an important moment in the decades-long campaign to protect the Arctic Refuge. The banking industry is increasingly distancing itself from drilling in the Arctic Refuge, even as the U.S. Government pushes to hold a lease sale there. Last month Gwich’in and environmental groups filed two lawsuits challenging the U.S. Government’s approval of oil leasing.

Chris Rider, Executive Director of CPAWS Yukon said in a statement, “The world is shifting away from fossil fuels, and drilling in the Arctic Refuge would be particularly expensive, so it presents a massive financial risk. It would also be devastating for caribou, the Gwich’in and for the climate. Refusing to fund Arctic Refuge drilling is the right ethical choice and a good business decision. The pressure is now on the rest of Canada’s banks to step up, and release their own policies.”

In a joint statement the Vuntut Gwitchin Government and Gwich’in Tribal Council they are celebrating the new policy that rules out direct financing for any project or transaction that involves exploration or development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

With this announcement, the Royal Bank of Canada joins more than two dozen global financial institutions that have rejected drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge including five of six major U.S. banks which include Citi, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo.

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