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CPPIB

A very nice form letter to send to the Canada Pension Plant Investment Board about the egregious – in fact, possibly illegal – continued investement and abandonment of net zero targets. Can you tell which part I added? ;)

 To CPPIB directors and senior leadership,

As one of the 22 million Canadians whose retirement savings you manage, I’m beyond disgusted to learn that CPPIB quietly abandoned its already pathetically weak and ill-intentioned net-zero by 2050 commitment in May 2025. This reversal signals that CPPIB is only interested in short term financial gain while the world literally burns. You know better than I how quickly oil and gas will stop being viable, but you're trying to bamboozle Canadians into thinking you have their long-term interests at heart with your villainous investments, rather than the reality that continued fossil fuel investment feeds the swiftly approaching climate catastrophe that will be utterly unaffordable for all of us and will not be assuaged by the paltry dollars your nasty oil investments may garner us.

I applaud and support the 4 young Canadians who have launched a legal challenge to protect the Canada Pension Plan, arguing that CPPIB’s failure to address climate risk violates its fiduciary duty to contributors and beneficiaries. As the case proceeds, it’s clear that continued investment in fossil fuel expansion is not only financially reckless – it may be unlawful.

Climate change is a systemic threat to global financial stability. Continuing to invest in oil, gas, coal and pipelines is a dangerous gamble with our pensions. Responsible investing today requires winding down fossil fuel exposure and aligning assets with a science-based pathway to net-zero by 2050.

I urge you to immediately re-commit to a net-zero portfolio, with near-term targets, a clear plan to phase out fossil fuel investments and a transparent approach to managing climate-related financial risks – including prudent consideration of dangerous global warming scenarios.

Canadians are watching. We want our retirement savings aligned with a safe climate future – not invested in the industries most responsible for putting that future at risk.

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