When it comes to the climate crisis, winning too slowly is the same as losing. It’s time for Canada’s pension funds to acknowledge this stark reality. Climate breakdown could make it impossible for Canadian pension funds to fulfill their mandates.
That’s the takeaway message from Shift: Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health’s 2023 Canadian Pension Climate Report Card.
This second edition finds that despite incremental progress, Canadian pension funds remain off track, especially compared to international peers. Far more work is needed to ensure Canadian pension managers fulfill their fiduciary duty to invest in plan members’ long-term interests and protect Canadians’ retirement security in a pathway aligned with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global heating to 1.5°C.
Four of the eleven Canadian pension funds in the report still do not have emissions reduction targets for 2030 or 2050. Developing and implementing credible, climate-aligned plans is urgently needed to protect both Canadian pensions and the wider financial system from the worsening climate crisis.
Shift’s benchmark measured incremental progress from most Canadian funds in 2023. The biggest improvements came from the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) and the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), funds that were previously far behind but in 2023 finally released climate strategies. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), on the other hand, was the only fund manager with lower scores.
