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Analysis: Pension fund support for Enbridge scope 3 emissions disclosure should be a no-brainer

In deciding whether or not to support a shareholder proposal calling for full disclosure of Enbridge’s scope 3 emissions on May 8th, Canada’s largest pension funds need look no further than their own policies, reports or membership in Climate Engagement Canada.

On May 8th, Enbridge is holding its Annual General Meeting (AGM), where the shareholders and executives of Canada’s largest fossil fuel pipeline company will gather to make key decisions about the coming year. Shareholders will be voting on a proposal asking the company to “annually disclose all of its scope 3 emissions using accepted definitions and in absolute terms.”

For Canada’s pension sector, voting for the scope 3 emissions proposal at Enbridge’s AGM should be a no-brainer.

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How did your pension fund vote on key climate-related shareholder proposals? [post updated July 11, 2023]

Canada’s largest public pension funds claim that they need to stay invested in fossil fuels so that they can use their influence to help companies reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But an analysis of shareholder votes at recent investor meetings for big banks and fossil fuel companies shows most pension funds aren’t even doing the bare minimum. Pension funds are largely voting against climate-related shareholder proposals and allowing company directors to ignore growing climate-related financial risks. Some pension funds won’t even disclose to their members how they’re voting. 

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Climate and Energy Analysis of the CPPIB's 2023 Annual Report

Yesterday the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) released its annual report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. With $570 billion in assets under management, the CPPIB is making big and growing investments in climate solutions and taking a more sophisticated approach to managing climate-related financial risks. But a close read of its 2023 annual report shows Canada’s national pension manager continues to obscure its exposure to and prolongation of the fossil fuel economy while failing to understand that its mandate will be impossible to fulfill without urgent action to avert catastrophic climate change. The CPPIB has considerable work to do to establish a credible climate strategy. Read about the good, the bad and the ugly of the climate and energy highlights from the CPPIB’s 2023 annual report.

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Analysis of BCI's 2022 ESG Annual Report

Last month, BCI released its 2022 ESG Annual Report, which provides further evidence that BCI is responding to calls from pension plan members for increased disclosure of how it is handling climate-related financial risks. In some ways, BCI is demonstrating climate leadership in the Canadian pension sector, but a close read shows that BCI’s strategy has an overreliance on false climate solutions like carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and carbon offsets, a fatally flawed approach to engaging fossil fuel companies, and a lack of a plan to disclose credible, science-based climate plans for its growing portfolio of fossil fuel assets.

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Analysis of PSP’s new Sustainable Investment Policy and Proxy Voting Principles and Proxy Voting Principles

PSP’s updated Sustainable Investment Policy and Corporate Governance and Proxy Voting Principles , and 2022 Green Bond Impact Report are further evidence that PSP is becoming more proactive in managing climate-related financial risks and encouraging portfolio companies to develop credible climate plans, but overall, PSP is not yet treating “systemic climate change risk” like a global emergency that could make it impossible to meet PSP’s financial obligations and invest in the best interests of contributors and beneficiaries. 

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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.

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