The Toronto-Dominion Bank | Decarbonization at The Toronto-Dominion Bank

Status
Withdrawn
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Resolution details
Resolution ask
Set targets or plans
ESG theme
  • Environment
ESG sub-theme
  • Fossil fuel financing
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Financials
Company HQ country
Canada
Resolved clause
It is proposed that the bank adopt a substantial reduction in its funding for fossil and polluting industries by setting ambitious, time-bound interim targets for achieving carbon neutrality. 
Supporting statement
Banks are at the heart of our economy. By choosing the investments or financing they make, they are shaping a model of society. By providing financial support to companies or projects, our banks are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions.  RBC, TD, Scotia, BMO and CIBC are all among the 25 largest lenders to the fossil fuel industry in the world. Since the Paris Agreement, these five banks have continued to support the development of polluting companies. Government is committed to “reducing greenhouse gas emissions […] from 40% to 45% by 2030, compared to 2005(38).” Some stakeholders suggest that, in order to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, short-term intermediate targets should be higher at the beginning than at the end, i.e. up to 25% for 2025 and 50% for 2050 or beyond. The International Energy Agency (IEA) even calls for “no more investments in fossil fuels”. In all cases, it is important to set science-based targets. To this end, standards exist, in particular that of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The country is responsible for 2% of global emissions (for less than 0.5% of the population), and current projections suggest that its oil and gas expansion should exhaust up to 16% of the global carbon budget. IPCC has again sounded the alarm recently, and Antonio Guterres has said that greenhouse gases are “choking our planet”. A concrete transition plan on climate change is urgently needed. It must be submitted to shareholders in the most appropriate annual publication. 

DISCLAIMER: By including a shareholder resolution or management proposal in this database, neither the PRI nor the sponsor of the resolution or proposal is seeking authority to act as proxy for any shareholder; shareholders should vote their proxies in accordance with their own policies and requirements.

Any voting recommendations set forth in the descriptions of the resolutions and management proposals included in this database are made by the sponsors of those resolutions and proposals, and do not represent the views of the PRI.

Information on the shareholder resolutions, management proposals and votes in this database have been obtained from sources that are believed to be reliable, but the PRI does not represent that it is accurate, complete, or up-to-date, including information relating to resolutions and management proposals, other signatories’ vote pre-declarations (including voting rationales), or the current status of a resolution or proposal. You should consult companies’ proxy statements for complete information on all matters to be voted on at a meeting.