A legal study says climate change is one of the biggest risks faced by Canadian pension plans and trustees will be increasingly forced to take it into account.
One of Canada’s leading pension law firms says plan managers may be forced into advocating public policy changes to fulfil their legal duty to keep plans growing.
The Toronto-based firm of Koskie and Minsky concludes that climate change is an especially big issue for fund managers because they need to plan more long-term than other investors.
Increasing temperatures are expected to create profound changes in the global economy and an uncertain regulatory environment.
The report concludes managers may have a duty to speak out on greenhouse gases to protect the pensions they oversee.
The report was commissioned by SHARE, a non-profit environmental investment consultancy that advises on about $14 billion worth of assets.