While Canada is discouraging the use of coal at home and around the world, pension funds and corporations are investing in it.

While Canada is discouraging the use of coal at home and around the world, pension funds and corporations are investing in it.
Photo Credit: Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press/file

Coal investments subvert Canada’s climate policy: advocacy group

Canadian pension funds and corporations are subverting federal government efforts to phase out coal worldwide, says John Bennett, senior policy advisor with the Friends of the Earth Canada.

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Canada named 8th largest investor in coal

In October 2017, Canada teamed up with the United Kingdom to press countries and companies around the world to stop burning coal which emits a potent greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. At the same time as these efforts are made, the German organization Urgewald has released a report showing Canada to be the eighth largest investor in new coal.

Millions are being invested by insurance companies, banks, financial companies as well as Canada’s public pension plan and that of the province of Quebec. Bennett says that companies have for years said they would tackle climate change and they have fallen short: “You’ve got to start somewhere and this is the time to start. And you start by not investing in the next project. Instead, you take your billion dollars and you put it into renewable energy.”

When burned, coal emits a powerful greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.
When burned, coal emits a powerful greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. © Pixabay

‘Why not make laws?”

Bennett says investing in coal is risky and that renewables are a far better bet as the world gets more serious about curbing climate change. And he says if private companies are not willing to stop investing in coal, the government should force them.

“Absolutely, we should have a regulation. There should be laws…We make laws about how much pollution should come out of the tailpipe of your car. They make laws about whether you can trade emissions. Why not make laws about where you can and can’t invest?” Bennett doesn’t expect this will happen soon, but he thinks it should be considered in future.

Everyone must work together, says Bennett

“We have to have everybody working together. We have to be able to have national policies that work. How can we have a federal government in Canada that’s going around the world urging other countries not to build new coal plants and phase out the ones that exist when we have the Canada Pension Plan and Canadian corporations following her (the environment minister) around saying ‘here’s the money to actually build new plants.’

“We can’t do it if we’re not working together.”

Categories: Environment & Animal Life, International
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