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(Bloomberg) — The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board was sued by a group of young people who claim the pension fund is putting their benefits in jeopardy by mismanaging climate-related financial risks.
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Aliya Hirji, Travis Olson, Ravneet Singh and Chloe Tse, who don’t plan to retire until after 2050, allege in the lawsuit that the country’s largest pension fund breached its legal duties to them by failing to “prudently identify, assess or manage climate-related risks.” The suit, filed in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice, also calls out the pension plan for its continued investments in fossil fuels.
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CPPIB is “flying blind to the real risks of climate change and failing to protect the pensions of young Canadians,” Karine Peloffy, a lawyer and sustainable finance lead at Ecojustice who’s representing the investors with attorneys from Goldblatt Partners LLP, said in a statement.
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CPPIB didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Groups of young people in several nations have sued governments and major energy companies for allegedly contributing to future climate change or failing to address it. Perhaps the most prominent of these — a case against the US government alleging it had violated their rights to life, liberty and property by encouraging fossil fuel consumption — was dismissed by a federal appeals court in 2020. The US Supreme Court declined to hear the case in March.
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The four Canadian workers, all under the age of 33, are seeking a range of declarations, including that CPPIB act “in the best interests of all contributors and beneficiaries,” and an order that CPPIB disclose more information about the climate-related risks in its investment portfolio.
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“I’m part of this case because I want to protect the financial interests of hardworking young people like me who want to be able to retire when we are older,” said Olson, who’s one of plaintiffs, in a statement. “My financial future is on the line.”
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CPPIB has said said it doesn’t intend to sell fossil fuel assets, but rather invest in the energy transition. The pension fund has reported a 41% decline in its portfolio’s carbon footprint since fiscal 2020 and says on its website that it remains committed to sustainability. However, CPPIB announced in May that it dropped its commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, three years after making the pledge.
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Toronto-based CPPIB currently manages the retirement funds of more than 22 million Canadians with almost C$732 billion ($523 billion) of assets under management, making it the world’s sixth-largest pension fund.
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Ecojustice said the case against CPPIB is 100%-funded by organizations and individuals who share the Canadian nonprofit’s vision as the country’s largest environmental law charity.
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—With assistance from Melissa Shin and Frances Schwartzkopff.
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English (US)