Banks moving forward on measuring key climate financing measure

TORONTO – National Bank and CIBC have committed to measuring how their fossil fuel financing compares with how much money they direct toward renewable energy, but not to making those numbers public.

The measure, known as the energy supply ratio, is meant to provide a simple way to see how much banks are helping, or hindering, the push toward a low emissions economy.

National Bank says in its latest proxy circular that, following discussions with advocacy group Share, the bank agreed to develop and disclose its own methodology for the measure by April 1 next year.

The bank did not commit to disclosing the actual ratio though.

CIBC also recently announced that it had started tracking the measure internally, and released details on how it calculates the ratio.

Last year, the bank had recommended shareholders vote against a Share proposal pushing the bank to adopt the measure, but said in its latest sustainability report that it will consider the ratio alongside other climate-related metrics.

“We acknowledge the importance of the (energy supply ratio) to our stakeholders, including support from 37.1 per cent of shareholders voting at CIBC’s 2025 Annual General Meeting,” it said in the report.

The bank didn’t commit to disclosing its findings, but said it will consider doing so as standards evolve.

The moves follow a similar pattern to RBC, which committed to calculating its ratio after pressure from some major U.S. pension funds, only to announce last year that it wouldn’t be making its findings public.

RBC said the decision was in part related to new anti-greenwashing rules, which the federal government is moving to walk back.

Scotiabank has said it will publish its ratio by June 1, while TD and BMO have yet to make commitments despite also securing notable shareholder support in proposals.

Amanda Carr, associate director of climate advocacy at Share, said too many banks are holding back on a key tool for assessing how much banks are aligned with the energy systems needed in the decades ahead.

“Transparent energy finance ratios are no longer a nice‑to‑have. They’re essential for investors trying to understand whether banks are managing transition risk and positioning themselves for the future,” she said in a news release.

Investors can get a sense of how Canadian banks are performing through the numbers calculated by research firm BloomberNEF, which pioneered the energy supply ratio.

It figures that for 2024, Canadian banks financed 61 cents in low-carbon projects for every dollar going to fossil fuels in 2024, well below the global average of 89 cents to a dollar.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 19, 2026.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CM; TSX:NA)