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CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Climate group raises concerns about oil and gas representation on pension fund boards
Suncor's base plant with upgraders in the oil sands in Fort McMurray Alta, on Monday June 13, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson TORONTO — A climate advocacy group says oil and gas representation on the boards of Canada's big public pensions raise concerns about conflicts of interest. Shift Action says in a new report that as of June 1, the boards of five of Canada's largest public sector funds had members who are also involved with fossil fuel companies. It says CPP Investments, Canada's largest pension fund, has the second-highest representation with three in ten members of its board having ties to the industry. The fund, which recently dropped its commitment to reach net-zero financed emissions by 2050, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Other funds the group found with cross-appointments include the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Public Sector Pension Investment Board, Alberta Investment Management Corp. and Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. Shift says that pension funds have a legal responsibility to act in the long-term best interest of beneficiaries, and that the interests of fossil fuel companies could compete with efforts to manage climate-related risks and reducing emissions. 'It's easy to see how fossil fuel company directors could potentially find themselves with real or perceived conflicts, and how such conflicts, if not addressed, could undermine prudent pension governance,' said Shift executive director Adam Scott in a statement. The group says that in total, nine current board members across the funds sit on the boards or executive teams of 12 oil and gas companies, or investment firms focused on the industry. It notes, however, that the number of boards with fossil fuel representation has gone down from seven to five since its last report in 2022. It says the boards of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, Investment Management Corporation of Ontario and CDPQ no longer have fossil fuel representation. --- This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2025.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Climate group raises concerns about oil and gas representation on pension fund boards
TORONTO — A climate advocacy group says oil and gas representation on the boards of Canada's big public pensions raise concerns about conflicts of interest. Shift Action says in a new report that as of June 1, the boards of five of Canada's largest public sector funds had members who are also involved with fossil fuel companies. It says CPP Investments, Canada's largest pension fund, has the second-highest representation with three in ten members of its board having ties to the industry. The fund, which recently dropped its commitment to reach net-zero financed emissions by 2050, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Other funds the group found with cross-appointments include the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Public Sector Pension Investment Board, Alberta Investment Management Corp. and Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. Shift says that pension funds have a legal responsibility to act in the long-term best interest of beneficiaries, and that the interests of fossil fuel companies could compete with efforts to manage climate-related risks and reducing emissions. "It's easy to see how fossil fuel company directors could potentially find themselves with real or perceived conflicts, and how such conflicts, if not addressed, could undermine prudent pension governance," said Shift executive director Adam Scott in a statement. The group says that in total, nine current board members across the funds sit on the boards or executive teams of 12 oil and gas companies, or investment firms focused on the industry. It notes, however, that the number of boards with fossil fuel representation has gone down from seven to five since its last report in 2022. It says the boards of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, Investment Management Corporation of Ontario and CDPQ no longer have fossil fuel representation. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2025. The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Canada's pension giants too cozy with the fossil fuel industry, new report warns
Five of Canada's largest public sector pension funds have board members with close ties to the fossil fuel industry, according to a new report. The pension and climate activist group Shift: Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health (Shift) warns the overseers of trillions in Canadian retirement savings face potential conflicts of interest as their massive investment portfolios face climate-related risks. Shift's report released Thursday names nine current directors of major Canadian pension funds with formal fossil fuel ties. Shift says these individuals also serve as directors or executives of 12 different fossil fuel companies or investment firms that focus on fossil fuels. The list includes former prime minister Stephen Harper, who sits on Alberta Investment Management Corporation's (AIMCo) board. Harper is listed as a 'working equity partner' on the website of Azimuth Capital Management, a Calgary-based private equity firm with investments in Canadian oil and gas producers. 'Pension boards face difficult governance decisions to reduce the climate impact of their investments and reduce fund exposure to risky stranded assets in the fossil fuel sector,' Shift executive director Adam Scott stated in a news release. 'Climate-related board decisions from funds managing hundreds of billions in assets have major implications for fossil fuel companies. It's easy to see how fossil fuel company directors could potentially find themselves with real or perceived conflicts, and how such conflicts, if not addressed, could undermine prudent pension governance.' Shift says the five big Canadian public sector pension funds 'entangled' with the fossil fuel sector include the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP), Public Service Pension Investment Board (PSP), Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), and Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS). Shift found CPPIB and AIMCo had the highest concentration of 'fossil fuel-entangled' directors on their boards, at 30 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively. In May, Shift criticized CPPIB, Canada's largest pension plan by assets under management, for its plan to abandon its net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 commitment. In February, a report from Shift noted a 'troubling divergence' among Canadian pensions, with the greenest funds becoming greener, and laggards deepening investments in fossil fuels. Shift says the five Canadian pension boards with fossil-linked directors in its new report marks a decrease from the 12 funds listed in its 2022 analysis. Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on X @jefflagerquist. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
National Observer
21-05-2025
- Business
- National Observer
Watchdog says pension plan dropping net-zero target a ‘failure of its fundamental purpose'
The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) has been lambasted by industry watchdog Shift Action for dropping its 2022 commitment to invest in line with the country's net-zero action targets. Shift Action said the move by the CPP investment board (CPPIB) was an 'unacceptable abdication of responsibility' to the 22 million Canadians whose retirement savings it handles and also 'difficult to find' in the organization's 2025 Annual Report, mentioned just once on the 23rd page of the report released Wednesday morning. 'Net-zero commitments are not optional. They have become essential tools to manage risk and maximize long-term financial returns for pension funds,' said Adam Scott, Shift Action's executive director, in a statement. 'In backing out of a promise to invest in line with its net-zero by 2050 commitment, CPPIB's management has failed to undertake its most fundamental purpose — to responsibly manage the long-term collective savings of working and retired Canadians.' Climate's 'global GDP impact' Shift Action pointed to studies showing climate impacts were already reducing global gross domestic project growth,' threatening the stability of financial markets, and disrupting lives and livelihoods' in Canada. 'If the climate crisis isn't addressed, experts have warned that pension funds like CPPIB are unlikely to generate the stable, future returns necessary to pay out their long-term obligations.' Ortec Finance, a consultancy specializing in risk management for financial institutions, found in a report in November that pension funds' 'heavy reliance on high-risk assets,' including in the fossil fuels sector, could result in investment return declines of 'up to 44 per cent by 2050 if climate policies remain unaddressed.' 'Many different international net-zero standards for financial institutions exist. But instead of working to improve its climate strategy, CPPIB instead retreated from its net-zero commitment." Shift Action Shift Action said the CPPIB's 'passive approach to climate is at odds with its role as an active investor' — and out of step with seven of Canada's largest pension funds, which are making 'ongoing improvements' in moving investment capital to net-zero-aligned strategies. 'CPPIB's retreat contrasts sharply with other Canadian pension funds that are staying the course on net-zero,' said Scott, noting that his organization's latest Canadian Pension Climate Report Card highlighted progressive investment portfolios being developed by the Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, Investment Management Corporation of Ontario, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and Ontario's University Pension Plan. He added the CPP's report explained its decision to abandon net-zero targets with 'a vague mention of 'recent legal developments' — most likely a reference to amendments to the Competition Act enacted in June 2024 that are designed to address greenwashing.' Shift Action said this could be read as acknowledging that the investmetn board of CPP, which is currently valued at almost $715 billion, knew its original net-zero statements 'weren't in line with internationally-recognized standards.' 'Many different international net-zero standards for financial institutions exist. But instead of working to improve its climate strategy, CPPIB instead retreated from its net-zero commitment,' said Scott. 'This appears to be a tacit recognition that the investment manager had been greenwashing its approach to climate.' CPPIB had not replied to a request for comment as Canada's National Observer went to press. However, CPPIB chief John Graham told The Globe and Mail that the apparent change in strategic direction was a response to "new considerations around how net-zero commitments are interpreted.' 'That caused us to change a little bit how we talk about it, but nothing's changed on what we're actually doing,' he said. 'Long-term perspective' 'We think it is really important to incorporate climate and incorporate sustainability into the portfolio when we take a long-term perspective and as a long-horizon investor.' Canada's eleven largest pension fund managers together manage over $2.5 trillion in savings, according to latest calculations by Shift Action. In its most recent pension climate report card, it concluded that while the sector was now building internal climate expertise and starting to help portfolio companies decarbonize by 'strengthening fossil fuel exclusions,' Shift Action said its number-crunching 'also exposes a troubling divergence between leading and lagging institutions.' Last December, a Shift Action study into CPPIB's climate change investment strategy found its 'insistence' that continued investment in fossil fuel assets and infrastructure was needed 'in order to generate returns while decarbonizing these assets and reducing emissions in the real economy' was "fundamentally flawed' as it hinged on dubious definitions of 'decarbonization' and 'transition to lower-carbon business models.' 'CPPIB has not provided any credible explanation for how this 'decarbonization' could work for fossil fuels or how CPPIB's fossil fuel investments or partnerships with fossil fuel companies will amount to 'financing their emissions reductions,'' it said at the time. 'CPPIB also neglects to explain how these companies will 'transition to lower-carbon business models.'.' CPPIB committed at least $3.3 billion to new oil, gas, coal and pipeline assets in 2024 alone, according to Shift Action. The fund finished the fiscal year with $714.4 billion in assets, up from $632.3 billion in 2024. CPPIB manages a global portfolio, with 12 per cent of its investments in Canada. Forty-seven per cent of assets are in the US, 19 per cent in Europe, 17 per cent in Asia Pacific and five per cent in Latin America. CPPIB chief John Graham told The Globe & Mail that the apparent change in strategic direction was a response to "new considerations around how net-zero commitments are interpreted.' 'That caused us to change a little bit how we talk about it, but nothing's changed on what we're actually doing,' he said. 'We think it is really important to incorporate climate and incorporate sustainability into the portfolio when we take a long-term perspective and as a long-horizon investor.'
CBC
21-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Canada Pension Plan Investments drops net-zero target after initially aiming for 2050
Social Sharing Canada Pension Plan Investments has dropped a net-zero by 2050 target for carbon emissions, according to an annual report released on Wednesday, following several Canadian financial institutions that have backtracked on climate commitments. CPP Investments noted that there have been recent legal developments in Canada that have introduced new considerations around how net-zero commitments are interpreted. Recent changes to Canada's Competition Act require companies to be able to substantiate environmental claims they make. John Graham, chief executive of CPP Investments, said the fund continues to believe in the need to incorporate sustainability in how it manages its portfolio. "We think it is really important to incorporate climate and incorporate sustainability into the portfolio when we take a long-term perspective and as a long-horizon investor," he said. "Recent legal developments in Canada have introduced, kind of, new considerations around how net-zero commitments are interpreted, so that's caused us to change a little bit how we talk about it, but nothing's changed on what we're actually doing." Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health, an advocacy group, criticized the move in a statement released Wednesday, asking how the pension fund will sustain benefits for future retirees "in a world of climate breakdown." "In backing out of a promise to invest in line with its net-zero by 2050 commitment, [CPP Investment's] management has failed to undertake its most fundamental purpose — to responsibly manage the long-term collective savings of working and retired Canadians," the statement read. Several major Canadian banks, including BMO, TD Bank and CIBC, have also backtracked on climate commitments this year, announcing they were leaving a Net-Zero Banking Alliance backed by the United Nations.
