This past summer, as wildfires raged through Canada, killing at least 17 people and burning more than 45.7 million acres — blazes that were made 50% more intense by climate change fueled by the burning of fossil fuels — some Canadians took out their anger on their country’s pension plan. They demanded that the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board stop investing their retirement savings in a Colorado oil and gas company that’s ramped up its extraction activity in recent years, drilling near homes, schools and parks.
Like many other North American pension systems, the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board had promised to decarbonize its portfolio by 2050. But it’s also the largest shareholder in Civitas Resources, owning 20% of the Denver energy company’s stock as of April 14, documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show. Akin to the U.S. Social Security system, about 21 million Canadians must pay into the government-sponsored retirement plan, which manages about $576 billion on their behalf.
