Shift | Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health
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To: Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Investment Board of the Canada Pension Plan
Stop gambling the Canada Pension Plan on fossil fuels
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) manages the retirement savings of over 22 million hard-working Canadians. But rather than using that enormous financial power to lead the transition away from fossil fuels that scientists and world leaders agree is essential – CPPIB continues to invest in fossil fuel expansion.
Starting on October 10th, 2024, we have a rare opportunity to ask why – and to demand better! Every two years, CPPIB must hold free public meetings to share how it is managing our national pension fund – and to answer Canadians’ questions on its alarming track record of investing in fossil fuel expansion.
Take action today: ask CPPIB executives why they’re gambling our hard-earned retirement savings on fossil fuel expansion.
Why is this important?
CPPIB is one of the largest investment funds in the world, managing nearly $650 billion in retirement savings on behalf of over 22 million working and retired Canadians.
- CPPIB committed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. In recent years CPPIB has dramatically increased its investments in climate solutions.
- But at the same time, CPPIB is continuing to invest our retirement dollars in fossil fuel infrastructure and the companies fueling the climate crisis – Shift estimates nearly $64 billion in fossil fuel investments as of September 2023. In 2024 alone, CPPIB made five new investments in fossil fuels, including marking Earth Day with a $405 million investment in fracking expansion in Ohio and buying 16,000 kms of oil and gas pipeline in the US Midwest. In September, a CPPIB-owned company extended the piping of fracked gas from the Peruvian Amazon for another ten years until at least 2044.
- CPPIB’s board of directors also has a potential conflict of interest problem: three of the 11 current members of CPPIB’s Board of Directors are also executives or corporate directors of fossil fuel companies.
The Canada Pension Plan is our money. CPPIB owes all of us a duty to maximize our returns over the long-term without undue risk of loss. Fossil fuel expansion simply cannot be a responsible investment, with the high risk of assets becoming stranded as the global economy moves away from fossil fuels.
Over the next few weeks, we have the opportunity to take part in public meetings across Canada being arranged by CPPIB in all provinces and territories except for Quebec – and we can ask CPPIB leadership hard-hitting questions on their role in fueling the climate crisis and protecting our retirement security in a healthy, livable future.
Demand answers: Send questions to CPPIB today – and demand that they stop investing our money in fossil fuel expansion and instead use the national retirement savings of Canadians to invest in climate solutions.
Show up and be heard: You can register to attend the meetings here. Show up and ask the tough questions.
For more information on CPPIB’s approach to climate change and risky investments in fossil fuels, and ideas to ask CPPIB executives about climate change and fossil fuels, read Shift’s CPPIB climate action briefing and sample questions. You can also reach out to Shift at [email protected].