Statement from Shift Action for Pension Wealth & Planet Health on HOOPP’s 2021 Annual Report
HOOPP has lagged its peers on climate, but is finally laying the groundwork needed to catch up. Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health is encouraged to see the fund finally starting to develop and announce pieces of a credible climate strategy.
Statement from Shift on CPP's Net-zero by 2050 Commitment
CPP Investments (CPP) has taken an important step today in recognizing that the long-term success of our national retirement fund is directly linked to addressing the climate crisis. While Shift is relieved to see the CPP finally catch up with its peers in making this essential net-zero commitment, the fund does not yet have a credible plan for achieving it and decarbonizing its significant fossil fuel assets.
MEDIA RELEASE: 100 faculty and staff call on the University Pension Plan to exclude fossil fuels and adopt an industry-leading climate policy
100 faculty and staff from Queen’s University, the University of Guelph (UofG) and the University of Toronto (UofT) are calling on the University Pension Plan (UPP) to exclude fossil fuels from its portfolio and adopt an industry-leading climate policy.
Statement from Shift on OMERS’ net-zero by 2050 commitment
Yesterday, OMERS became the fourth Canadian pension manager to commit to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. While we welcome this positive step, OMERS has a long way to go to transition its portfolio onto a zero emissions pathway.
Opinion: What Travis Toews could get besides oil divestment
On November 5, Alberta's Finance Minister wrote in the Montreal Gazette that the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec's (CDPQ) decision to eliminate oil and gas stocks from its portfolio will affect the return on Quebecers' collective savings. This is strange, to say the least. The Sortons la Caisse du carbone coalition has shown that the Caisse's 50 largest oil and gas stocks have had a negative return in seven of the last ten years.
Statement on the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario’s commitment to net-zero by 2050
We are pleased to see IMCO join the growing ranks of global asset owners and managers committing to change their investment strategies to ensure the retirement savings of Ontario public employees are invested in a safe climate future.
Ontario Teachers’ reportedly in talks to invest in Indian coal giant behind Australian Carmichael mine
Despite its net-zero commitment, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is reportedly considering a US$2 billion investment in Adani Enterprises, a giant Indian conglomerate with new coal mines and power stations planned and under construction.
ANALYSIS: New climate report shows OTPP is listening to teachers- but there’s much more to do
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Canada’s third largest pension, committed in January to net-zero emissions by 2050, and in September set interim targets for getting there, but it wasn’t until this week that the OTPP disclosed crucial details on how exactly it plans to achieve its goals. Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health breaks down the highlights and examines what still needs to be done.
Beneficiaries warn Canada’s largest pensions of legal duty to manage climate-related financial risks
Letters were delivered today to the boards and executive of Canada’s 10 largest pension fund managers requesting information on how the funds are meeting their legal fiduciary obligations to beneficiaries in the face of a worsening global climate crisis.
Statement on the CDPQ’s oil producer divestment and new emissions intensity targets
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec’s (CDPQ) move to exclude investments in oil producers from its portfolio by the end of 2022 is a welcome and significant move that improves the CDPQ’s position as a climate leader among Canada’s major financial institutions. It is amazing that it took until 2021 for a Canadian pension fund to finally recognize that protecting our retirement savings from the worsening climate crisis inevitably requires abandoning market exposure to high-risk fossil fuels.
Statement on the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s new emissions intensity reduction targets
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s (OTTP) announcement of near-term emissions intensity reduction targets is a very welcome step to ensure the retirement savings of Ontario teachers are being invested in a safe climate future. It’s the strongest climate commitment we’ve seen yet from a Canadian pension fund.
Climate Literacy Still Lacking in Canada’s Financial Institutions
Canada’s financial Institutions are facing unprecedented, existential disruptions from the climate crisis in coming years. But judging by their lacklustre action to date, you would never know it.
Statement from Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health on the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s increased stake in Scotia Gas Networks
Yesterday, the OTPP announced it’s investing even more of the retirement savings of Ontario teachers in fossil fuel infrastructure in the midst of a worsening climate crisis.
Statement from Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health on the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s purchase of a stake in Puget Sound Energy
Yesterday, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) announced that it is partnering with Macquarie Asset Management to purchase a 31.6% stake in Puget Sound Energy (PSE) from CPP Investments. While PSE certainly has the potential to become part of the solution to the climate crisis, that is not the case today.
Why are Canadian pensions risking our future by funding fossil fuel expansion?
Despite signs of progress, Canada’s pension funds continue to pursue investing strategies that keep us on the pathway to catastrophic climate change. Op-Ed by Shift’s Senior Manager Patrick DeRochie in Corporate Knights.
Statement from Shift Action for Pension Wealth & Planet Health on PSP Investments’ annual report and responsible investment report
PSP Investments has made early progress in putting in place the internal tools and processes required to assess and manage the financial risks of climate change. However, it is unclear how PSP is using this climate-related information to protect the pensions of more than 900,000 federal public servants and align their retirement savings with a safe climate future.
Statement from Adam Scott, Director of Shift, on the significance for Canadian finance institutions of the IEA’s new Net-Zero by 2050 outlook
The release of the International Energy Agency’s new 1.5℃ energy scenario is game changing for the responses of Canadian finance institutions to the climate crisis. The world’s most influential energy modelling analysis provides essential clarity on what is required to achieve the energy transition in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Statement from Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health on climate-related financial risk in the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s 2020 annual report
All things considered, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) weathered the pandemic storms of the past year effectively. However, the economic shocks from COVID-19 have revealed the growing long-term risks of the fund’s exposure to fossil fuel investments, and the growing financial benefits of shifting capital into climate solutions.
Statement from Adam Scott, Director of Shift Action for Pension Wealth & Planet Health, on BMO’s Unambitious “Climate Ambition” announcement
BMO’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 is another welcome acknowledgement that finance institutions have an obligation to address the climate crisis through their lending and investment decisions. Yet Canada’s banks have so far failed to acknowledge the requirement to immediately and dramatically shift financing away from fossil fuels and into climate solutions.
New Report: Canadian Financial Institutions Among the "Dirty Thirty" Financiers of the Global Coal Industry
Canadian financial institutions are some of the largest financiers of the global coal industry, according to the 2020 Global Coal Exit List, new financial data released today by German non-profit Urgewald.