TORONTO — Scotiabank’s climate change commitments and net-zero approach was a recurring theme brought up by shareholders and proxy holders at the bank’s 190th annual general meeting (AGM) this morning.
During the meeting, one Scotiabank shareholder commended the bank for acknowledging climate change as a top risk, but said it was not acting with a greater sense of urgency, citing the bank’s ongoing financing of fossil fuels.
Meanwhile, Greenpeace activists attempted to disrupt the meeting, criticizing Scotiabank for their approach to fossil fuels and membership in the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), an oil lobby group.
In March, Scotiabank introduced its inaugural Net-Zero Pathways Report, which outlines its net-zero strategy for the bank specifically and the role it will play in the global transition to net-zero.
CEO Brian Porter was absent from the bank’s AGM after testing positive for COVID-19, board chair Andrew Regent, who led most of the meeting, explained.
Scotiabank’s chief financial officer, Raj Viswanathan, delivered a condensed version of Porter’s prepared remarks.
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