Toronto, Nov. 28, 2018: “The CPP Investment Board is currently misleading Canadians. It is not taking climate risk seriously. It must take immediate action and stop investing in fossil fuels” observed  John Bennett, Senior Policy Advisor, Friends of the Earth – Canada (FOE-C).

If the CPPIB does not take immediate action warns Friends of the Earth, it will be negligent in its job as an investment manager, failing the economy by propping up sunset industries, and failing Canadian pensioners who will suffer from climate change.

As a resource for Canadians concerned about climate risk affecting their pensions and retirement, The ABCs of the Canada Pension Plan and its Contribution to Climate Change: A Primer has been posted to the FoE Canada website.

Around the world major financial institutions including Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec are responding with urgency to the climate crisis. While the CPPIB responds by planning to set up committees and implement their work by 2021 – three years more of inaction!

“We don’t have years to think about acting on climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report makes it clear we need action now! Even the US government report just released agrees.” Steve Barg, President of the Board of Directors, Friends of the Earth Canada.

Given the climate crisis and the urgency to act, Friends of the Earth demands:

• That the CPP Investment Board immediately conducts a 1.5 degree stress test to determine the CPP’s vulnerability to climate change.
• The CPP’s Investment Board immediately stop investing in all fossil fuels (coal, gas and oil) including pipelines. Further, that it divest all direct and indirect investments in new coal projects to bring it in line with current Canadian government policy called the Powering Past Coal Alliance.
• The CPP Investment Board raise its veil of secrecy by making Environmental, Social and Governance reports conducted on proposed investments publicly available allowing Canadians to see, for the first time, how these important issues are assessed before investment decisions.
•  The CPP Investment Board stop contributing directly or indirectly to campaigns of the fossil fuel industry to prevent action on climate change, public health and the environment as we believe they did in Colorado’s recent Proposition 112.

Friends of the Earth Canada will raise these questions with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board on Friday, November 30 in Toronto.

The CCPIB public meeting in Toronto will be at the Pantages Hotel 200 Victoria St starting at 10 am.

For more information, contact: John Bennett, Senior Policy Advisor, Friends of the Earth Canada, 613 291-6888 johnbennett@foecanada.org

Friends of the Earth Canada (www.foecanada.org) is the Canadian member of Friends of the Earth International, the world’s largest grassroots environmental network campaigning in 75 countries on today’s most urgent environmental and social issues.