Climate Action 2025
An annual progress report on Canada’s net-zero journey
Why We Wrote This Report
RBC launched the Climate Action Institute in 2023 to support Canada’s journey to net-zero, with a commitment to inform, engage and act on all aspects of the climate challenge.
In our first two years, our team published more than 40 research papers, on topics ranging from district energy to artificial intelligence’s impact on Canada’s electricity grid. We’ve engaged with governments, industries and community groups, to share insights and ideas. We’ve heard and learned from Canadians at the forefront of climate change. And we’ve 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.
Like last year, this year’s Climate Action 2025 report gives Canadians an annual look at climate action, to show the country where we’re at, what’s working and what’s not.
CA25 was produced by the Institute’s research team, led by Myha Truong-Regan, who compiled databases on leading sectors, conducted surveys of Canadian business leaders, analyzed consumer behaviour and interviewed scores of climate experts.
Building on last year’s sectoral report cards, the team developed a unique National Climate Index, and a Climate Index for agriculture, buildings, electricity, heavy industry, oil and gas, and transportation. Each index has four levers—government policy, climate action, capital flows, and emissions—that together offer a composite snapshot of how Canadian industries pursued their climate commitments.
We shine a special light on the most central issue Canada must address over the next half decade: building a low-carbon electricity grid. The sector sits at the heart of all industries and would make a meaningful difference in the economic and environmental viability of conventional and new industries that will drive Canadian economic prosperity forward.
To profile action, we showcase six innovative Canadian companies as our case studies for each of the sectors to highlight the on-the-ground challenges Canadian businesses face as they reduce their carbon footprint and help their customers along the way. These entrepreneurs, businesses and change agents are involved in industries as diverse as animal genetics to carbon capture, with each making a telling contribution to Canada’s climate goals.
Lastly, the report concludes with a list of ideas aimed at jumpstarting more progress in the year ahead.