Just one Canadian pension fund ranked in the top 20 global funds based on their responses to the recommendations of the task force on climate-related financial disclosures, according to new research by the Asset Owners’ Disclosure Project.

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which was awarded a BBB rating, placed No. 16 out of the top 100 global public pension plans by size. The rating system awarded AAA to the best plans by climate change leadership and innovation, all the way down to the lowest ranking of X. It based the ratings on a combination of factors, including governance, strategy, risk management, as well as the metrics and targets used by plans.

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Other prominent Canadian plans included:

  • The Public Sector Pension Plan Investment Board (No. 22);
  • The Quebec Government and Public Employees Retirement Plan (No. 24):
  • The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (No. 32);
  • The B.C. Municipal Pension Plan (No. 43);
  • The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (No. 47); and
  • The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (No. 52).

Globally, the top three pension funds were Sweden’s Fjärde AP-Fonden, France’s Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites and the New York State Common Retirement Fund.

From a global perspective, the research found pension funds are showing more leadership and innovation when it comes to tackling climate change than the insurance sector. However, many large plans were given an X rating, which meant they declined to respond to the survey or had no public information available. Notably, no Canadian plans included in the research fell into that category.

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The research also noted that the size of a pension fund had no bearing on whether it was able to achieve a good rating on climate change leadership, as the plans that received a grade between AAA and B varied considerably by assets under management. However, there were observable differences by geography, with the Europe, Middle East and Africa region boasting the most pension funds with between AAA and B ratings and the fewest with an X rating. While the Americas had the second highest amount of leaders in this space, it also had the most laggards. Asia Pacific, meanwhile, had the most pensions receiving a D rating.

Denmark and Sweden led Europe, dwarfing other major players like Britain. Likewise, in the U.S., certain states, such as New York and California performed well, while many of the country’s other large funds did particularly poorly.

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