InfluenceMap, a research partner to Climate Action 100+, just released a major report on climate lobbying by the Canadian oil and gas industry. It concludes that while most Canadian oil and gas companies state public support for climate action, they nevertheless continue to lobby against government actions to limit global warming. The report calls this…

Last week at the Investor Summit on Responsible Investing in Vancouver, Barb Zvan, the President and CEO of the University Pension Plan, said she hopes news about Canada’s sustainable finance taxonomy will be out by the end of the month. A taxonomy has the potential to clarify what activities qualify as green or transition investments,…

Plus, 4 things that effective climate engagement needs to include Is engagement the only way to ensure real-world emissions reductions? Or, is divestment the key to achieving net zero? – the perennial net zero asset management question that never fails to elicit a hot debate.  Like so much in life, this issue is not binary.…

Nobody should doubt just how much influence Canada’s big banks have over national politics. The Globe and Mail has reported on the direct access that bank CEO’s have with the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance with whom they share their views on everything from covid restrictions to the use of the Emergencies Act. In…

2022 was Investors for Paris Compliance’s first full calendar year, and a full one it was. In general, we’re helping to fill a large and growing gap in the investor ecosystem as more Canadian companies make net zero pledges, yet with few people holding those companies accountable for following through. Here are some highlights and…

RBC finally came out with its initial 2030 targets today. There will be a lot of justified commentary on the weakness of its intensity-based targets, but RBC also released something else - a new framework for sustainable finance. We’ll take some minor credit for this release, although not for its content. You may remember that…

Insurance companies are on the front lines of the climate crisis. This is most evident with property insurers who end up picking up the tab following extreme weather events - hurricanes, fires, floods, etc - and is behind the reason that these companies are lobbying for better adaptation policies in Canada. But it’s also true…

Sun Life and Manulife found to be in early days of implementing net zero plans, with major gaps remaining (September 21, 2022; Toronto, Canada) Today the shareholder advocacy group Investors for Paris Compliance released the report Insuring the Climate Crisis which documents the financed emissions of insurance giants Sun Life and Manulife and their efforts…

Today the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) updated its guidance regarding Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLBs), among other things. You may remember the controversies regarding the use of SLBs in Canada by companies like Enbridge and Tamarack Valley Energy who used proceeds from SLBs to expand fossil fuel infrastructure and development – thereby increasing emissions. Unfortunately, ICMA…

Canada’s major banks have committed to going “net zero” by 2050 in their financed emissions. To date these commitments have been voluntary, with serious questions arising about whether the banks will ever be inclined to leave money on the table made by financing the fossil fuel industry. In terms of implementation, we have seen relatively…