MEDIA RELEASE: 100 faculty and staff call on the University Pension Plan to exclude fossil fuels and adopt an industry-leading climate policy
SHIFT ACTION FOR PENSION WEALTH & PLANET HEALTH
For Immediate Release: Thursday, November 25, 2021
Guelph, Kingston and Toronto, Ontario - 100 faculty and staff from Queen’s University, the University of Guelph (UofG) and the University of Toronto (UofT) are calling on the University Pension Plan (UPP) to exclude fossil fuels from its portfolio and adopt an industry-leading climate policy.
The letter, analysis and demand for action from UPP beneficiaries, including leading experts in climate science, sustainable finance, and climate and energy policy, comes as the UPP hosts Virtual Town Halls and solicits feedback this week from beneficiaries on the design and member experience of their pension fund. During Tuesday’s Virtual Town Hall, the UPP prohibited questions related to climate and responsible investing and hid from view comments from participating beneficiaries.
“As the worsening climate crisis impacts more and more people in Canada and around the world, the investment landscape has fundamentally shifted,” says Dr. Kyla Tienaara, Canada Research Chair in Energy and Environment and Assistant Professor in the School of Environmental Studies and Department of Global Development Studies at Queen’s University. “Forward-thinking pension funds have already adopted ambitious climate-positive strategies and tools to safeguard assets from unnecessary climate risk and blacklist investment in the oil, gas, coal and pipeline companies that are driving the climate crisis.”
The UPP, with $10.5 billion in assets under management, launched on July 1, 2021, combining the pension funds of Queen’s, UofG and UofT. Faculty and staff at Trent University will be joining the UPP in January. Both UofG and UofT have already committed to divest from fossil fuel companies in their endowment portfolios. In online consultation sessions hosted by the UPP earlier this year, an overwhelming majority of participating beneficiaries asked the UPP to develop a robust climate policy and exclude fossil fuels from their pension portfolio.
“We’re simply asking the UPP to at the very least honour the responsible investing commitments already made by UofG and UofT and invest our retirement savings in a safe climate future,” says Dr. Andrea Paras, an Associate Professor of Political Science at UofG. “That means a credible science-based portfolio decarbonization plan, an immediate negative screen on oil, gas, coal and pipeline investments, and massive allocation of funds to climate solutions like renewable energy and clean technology. We also need more transparency about what specific investments are currently in the fund.” The analysis and demand for action signed by 100 staff and faculty calls on the UPP to:
1. Launch a comprehensive, science-backed transition plan that commits to the absolute decarbonization of the portfolio, with a meaningful net-zero status being achieved by the year 2050, and clear interim targets for 2030 and 2040.
2. Implement an immediate negative investment screen on new oil, gas, and coal-related investments, alongside a robust transition plan to eliminate these assets and accelerate net-zero goals.
3. Commit to reallocate freed-up funds to profitable climate solutions and increase the percentage of the portfolio invested in investment-grade renewable energy assets.
4. Set and uphold robust climate-related engagement criteria for owned companies, alongside a commitment to divest from companies which fail to correspond to said climate-related engagement criteria.
5. Fully disclose the UPP’s holdings and provide transparent reporting of ESG benchmark criteria for all owned companies and external asset managers.
“Academics and experts from all three member universities have told the UPP again and again and again that they must demonstrate leadership in the face of the climate emergency,” says Dr. Matthew Hoffmann, Co-Director of the Environmental Governance Lab at UofT’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. “This is not a time for half-measures-- both fiduciary duty and ethical responsibility require rapid and comprehensive action from the UPP.”
The analysis and letter from UPP beneficiaries, and a full list of signatories, can be found here.
For media inquiries or to arrange an interview with UPP beneficiaries involved in the analysis and letter, please contact:
Patrick DeRochie - Shift Action for Pension Wealth & Planet Health - 416-576-2701 - patrick@shiftaction.ca
Dr. Marcus Taylor - Associate Professor & Head of Department, Global Development Studies, Queen’s University - 613-533600 x77655 - taylorm@queensu.ca
Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health is a charitable initiative that works to protect pensions and the climate by bringing together beneficiaries and their pension funds to engage on the climate crisis.
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