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Download (2.87 Mo) #Your pension savings can contribute to or help reduce climate change and its harmful impacts on health equity.
We all deserve a healthy environment and an ecological system that supports and sustains our health. Yet the impacts of the climate crisis are exacerbating health inequities. Migrant agricultural workers toil through heatwaves; senior citizens swelter in long-term care facilities without air conditioning; and people experiencing homelessness suffer devastating losses when heavy rains soak their possessions.
As health and community workers respond to these impacts, they’ll want to consider one often overlooked lever for climate action: how their retirement savings are invested. Is the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) investing your retirement savings in a way that worsens the climate crisis and its inequitable impacts?
Understanding how your pension dollars are invested is part of understanding how you can take action to support ecological health equity. In this webinar, climate and finance experts from Shift: Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health shared:
- The risks the climate crisis poses to pension funds and retirement savings
- An overview of HOOPP’s approach to the climate crisis, including its investments in fossil fuels
- What you can do to engage with HOOPP on the climate crisis.
#Webinar Resources
Check out webinar recording below. The link slide deck can be found here.
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A number of additional resources were mentioned and inked in the chat during the webinar. You can find them at the links below:
- Mobilizing Public Health Action on Climate Change in Canada: A message from Canada's Chief Public Health Officer (2022)
- The 2022 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and clmate change: health at the mercy of fossil fuels
- The Health Costs of Climate Change: How Canada can adapt, prepare, and save lives (Canadian Climate Institute, 2022)
- Considering climate change is part of pension trustees’ legal responsibilities, a new analysis reveals (Canadian Climate Law Initiative, 2021)
- HOOPP's Commitment to Net Zero: Learn more about our ongoing work to address climate change (HOOPP, 2022)
- Influence Map: Corporate Climate Policy Footprint, 2022
- HOOPP Public Equities Portfolio (Regulatory Filing, 2022)
- Insuring the Climate Crisis: Sun LIfe & Manulife's Financed Emissions (Investors for Paris Compliance, 2022)
- Statement from Shift Action for Pension Wealth & Planet Health on HOOPP's 2021 Annual Report (Shift, 2022)
- Beneficiaries warn Canada's largest pensions of legal duty to manage climate-related financial risks (Shift, 2022)
Get involved! Advocacy tools from Shift:
- Send a letter to HOOPP's fund managers and your union leaders about why this issue is important to you
- Sign an open letter to HOOPP (individuals)
- Sign an open letter to HOOPP (organizations)
- Join Shift's email list
For more information on these resources and other ways to get involved, please email info@shiftaction.ca.
Panelists
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Adam Scott, Director Adam 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. Adam and his family live in Toronto. |
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Laura McGrath, Pension Engagement Manager Laura has extensive experience building and supporting networks to work for meaningful change. At Shift, she works pension beneficiaries, including a group of HOOPP 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. She has expertise in coaching, facilitation, training design and delivery, and network mobilization. Laura and her family live in Toronto. |
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Patrick DeRochie, Senior Manager Patrick 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. He splits his time between Toronto and the Saugeen Peninsula. |
