The Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec wants out of oil by 2022

MONTREAL — The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) wants out of oil production by the end of 2022 and will devote a $10 billion envelope to decarbonize carbon-emitting industrial sectors.

The fund that serves as a nest egg for Quebecers made the announcement Tuesday as part of the unveiling of its 2021 climate strategy. The institution has also enhanced certain targets set by its first climate strategy in 2017.

In 2017, the Caisse wanted to reduce the carbon intensity of its portfolio by 25 per cent per dollar invested, for the period of 2017 to 2025. It’s already exceeded its target with a 38 per cent reduction as of 2020. The fund is now aiming to reduce its carbon intensity by 60 per cent by 2030 from the 2017 baseline.

The fund's portfolio includes $36 billion in low-carbon assets. It wants to bring it to $54 billion by 2025, which would be triple what it held in 2017.

“With this new strategy, we are demonstrating our leadership as investors and taking the next step in climate investment," said Charles Emond, president and CEO of CDPQ, in a release. “This is in the best interests of our depositors, our portfolio companies and the communities in which we invest.”

Oil companies still represent 1 per cent of the Caisse's portfolio, the institution said in a release. That would represent $3.9 billion, based on net asset size as of June 30.

The news was welcomed by a coalition of environmental groups that includes Greenpeace Canada, SNAP Quebec, the Association pour la voix étudiante au Québec (AVEQ) and the David Suzuki Foundation along with various citizen groups and unions.

“In the case of oil production, the Caisse listened to the markets, to science, and to the will of Quebecers who do not want their money to fuel the climate crisis. The signal to other funds and Canadian banks is clear: if the Caisse could do it, you can and must do it too," said the coalition's member organizations unanimously, in a statement issued Tuesday.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 28, 2021.