March 3, 2022 Recording – From Climate Laggards to Leaders: Transforming Public Pension Funds

Climate Legacy, in partnership with SHIFT, is hosting an online workshop for working and retired federal public servants on the Public Service Pension Investment Board (PSP) and the climate crisis. The workshop will:

• inform PSP beneficiaries about the urgency of the climate crisis and the concept of carbon lock-in;
• explain to PSP beneficiaries why the investment decisions of their $205 billion pension fund matter;
• describe the financial risks of climate change to public service pensions;
• provide a summary of how PSP is managing these risks, and an overview of its risky investments in fossil fuels and other high-carbon projects and companies;
• compare PSP’s approach to climate change and fossil fuels to that of the Canada Pension Plan ahd the Quebec Pension Plan
• show how working and retired federal public servants have the power to take action and demand better from their pension fund managers.

Speakers

Adam Scott is a climate change expert with extensive domestic and international experience in policy, energy and finance, as well as campaign design and execution. He has a lifelong commitment to supporting the transition to a zero carbon economy in Canada. At Shift, he works with wide-ranging stakeholders to bring international climate leadership into Canada’s financial sector. Previously, Adam was Senior Advisor to Oil Change International and manager of Environmental Defence Canada’s Climate & Energy program. Adam has advised governments, communicated through national and international media, and published numerous reports focused on various aspects of the low carbon transition.

Patrick DeRochie has wide-ranging experience in policy, research, government relations, digital engagement, campaigning, organizing and stakeholder relations with environmental and labour organizations. At Shift, he is focused on tracking and analyzing the fossil fuel and climate-related investments of Canadian pension funds and building a network of pension beneficiaries to invest their retirement savings in a zero-carbon future. Previously, Patrick was Climate and Energy Program Manager with Environmental Defence Canada and Political Organizer with SEIU Healthcare, one of Canada’s largest healthcare labour unions. Patrick has been deeply involved in developing federal and provincial climate and energy policy and regulations and acts as a regular commentator in national media.

Laura McGrath is Shift’s Pension Engagement Manager and the lead on Shift’s work on OMERS and HOOPP. Laura has extensive experience building and supporting networks to work for meaningful change. At Shift, she works with networks of pension beneficiaries who want to understand and communicate to their pension funds the financial risks that climate change poses. Previously, Laura was Network Engagement Manager at Green Economy Canada. With expertise in coaching, facilitation, and training design and delivery, she is especially interested in the intersection of climate change and psychology. Laura and her family live in Toronto.

Dr. Tessa Hebb is a Distinguished Research Fellow and past Director of the Carleton Centre forCommunity Innovation, Carleton University, Canada. She is working with Ceres to expand itsfootprint in Canada. She is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Policy andAdministration and the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University. She has publishedmany books and articles on responsible investing and impact investing including the volumes theRoutledge Handbook of Responsible Investmentand SRI in the 21st Century: Does it make a Difference to Society.