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To: CPP Investments (Canada Pension Plan Investment Board)

Stop investing the Canada Pension Plan in fossil fuels

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) needs to stop investing public money in destructive fossil fuels.

They are using billions of dollars of our hard-earned retirement savings to invest in risky oil, gas and coal companies that are fueling the climate crisis.

In October 2020, we have a rare opportunity to ask why-- and demand better! Every two years, the CPP is required by law to hold free public meetings to tell us how they are managing our national pension fund. They are holding ten meetings from October 5th to 20th and encouraging us to participate and ask questions. It gives us the perfect chance to ask why the CPP calls climate change a crisis we can’t afford to ignore, yet pours billions of dollars into the source of the problem: fossil fuels.

Take action and send a letter to the CPP today asking them hard-hitting questions about why they are investing our retirement savings into fossil fuels.

Why is this important?

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is one of the largest pension funds in the world, managing $434.4 billion on behalf of more than 20 million working and retired Canadians. The CPP is invested by an independent, arms-length crown corporation called CPP Investments, with a mandate to invest in the best interests of Canadians (outside of Quebec) and ensure the long-term sustainability of Canadians pensions.

How the CPP invests our retirement dollars is a major factor in how quickly Canada and the world can transition to a zero-carbon economy while growing our pension savings in a warming world. The decisions of pension funds like the CPP have major influence over whether companies build electric cars and solar panels, or diesel engines and oil and gas infrastructure.

Every two years, the CPP is required by law to hold free public meetings. They are holding ten meetings from October 5th to 20th and encouraging us to participate and ask questions. You can register for meetings here: https://www.cppinvestments.com/public-meetings#:~:text=We%20hold%20public%20meetings%20every,meetings%20will%20be%20held%20online.

The CPP provides little information on how it’s investing our retirement savings, but we’ve learned that the CPP:

Currently owns about $12 billion worth of fossil fuel companies-- nearly double what it does in renewable energy;
-Has $144 million invested in Chinese coal companies;
-Owns a fracking company in Colorado that is drilling wells next to schools, homes and playgrounds, and donated over US$600,000 to pro-fracking candidates and Big Oil interest groups in Colorado’s 2018 state elections;
-Bought Irish offshore gas reserves from Shell in 2017, only to see the new Irish government ban licenses for new offshore gas exploration and production this year;
-Owns billions of dollars in shares in the most polluting oil sands, gas, coal and pipeline companies.
-By the end of fiscal year 2020, the CPP’s “Energy and Resources” portfolio dropped 23.4 per cent-- the worst return of any asset group.

These risky fossil fuel investments are incompatible with Canadian and global climate commitments, and are inconsistent with the CPP’s mandate to invest in the best interests of Canadians.

You can send questions to the CPP today. Demand better and ask the CPP to stop investing our shared retirement savings in risky fossil fuels.

Want to learn more about the CPP’s approach to investing in risky fossil fuels? Check out this handy guide: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KYesiEuXPySYOOCHKm7MGUytUscSANN8/view?usp=sharing

For more information, email: [email protected]

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Updates

2020-10-19 19:51:47 -0400

100 signatures reached

2020-10-14 07:31:20 -0400

50 signatures reached

2020-10-09 16:51:55 -0400

25 signatures reached

2020-10-05 13:27:06 -0400

10 signatures reached