Why are Canadian pension funds being pressured to invest your retirement savings in risky liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects during a climate crisis? And if these projects are such great investments, why does the government need to help finance them in the first place? LNG projects are long-term financial bets on uncertain markets – and depend on public support to get built. Despite these risks, the government wants more LNG terminals built and is working to use more public financing and policy levers to transfer the risks for pension funds and other institutional investors to the public.

Your pension fund is facing pressure from the federal government to finance so-called major projects “in the national interest”. Several of these projects include risky new fossil fuel infrastructure like liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and pipelines, which carry unacceptable financial risks, climate and environmental consequences, and lack consent from impacted First Nations and Indigenous communities. Your retirement security is on the line. There is a narrow window to ensure pension funds protect your retirement savings from risky bets on fossil fuels.

BC is experiencing the devastating impacts of climate change in real time, including unprecedented wildfires, devastating heat domes, and flooding that has caused billions in damages. Climate impacts are not some distant threat for BC, but a current reality. Yet BCI continues to lag behind other Canadian and international pension funds on its approach to the climate crisis. Read Shift’s climate and energy analysis of BCI’s 2024-2025 Annual Report.

BCI, the $233 billion pension manager for 725,000 public sector employees, including teachers, health care workers, college and university staff, and provincial and municipal public servants, released its 2022-2023 Annual Report last week. BCI’s lack of a net-zero emissions commitment, failure to implement a fossil fuel exclusion, and continued investment in fossil fuels and related infrastructure demonstrate that the fund is not yet aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

While BCI is responding to calls from beneficiaries for increased disclosure of how it is handling climate-related risks, the investment manager has minimal investments in climate solutions, remains invested in risky high-carbon assets without credible decarbonization pathways, and continues its futile attempts to engage with fossil fuel companies that are failing on climate action.