Climate policy engagement among corporations accountable for the bulk of Canada’s carbon emissions is consistently misaligned with the Paris Agreement, according to new research aimed at informing the stewardship agenda.
Not a single company surveyed was classed as aligned with climate science and and almost 80% of companies surveyed show low levels of climate engagement with Canadian policy makers, according to new research produced by investor group Climate Engagement Canada (CEC) in collaboration with InfluenceMap.
CEC is backed by a coalition of investors, including Canadian asset owners such as CDP and Canada’s University Pension Plan.
The research marks the first assessment of climate policy engagement efforts among the 41 companies on CEC’s focus list of companies which will play a strategic role in Canada’s transition to a net zero economy.
It aims to track whether firm’s lobbying efforts are aligned with the Paris Agreement. CEC’s assessment finds that only 7% exhibit strategic engagement with climate policy, with energy companies scoring the lowest.
Oil and gas firms such as Cenovus Energy Inc, Pembina Pipeline Corporation and Crescent Point Energy Corporation account for nearly a third of the list. It also includes utilities firms such as Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and AltaGas as well as firms in the mining, consumer industrials and transport sectors.
Overall, the report scored companies from A to F, with only A and B+ being classed a climate lobbying efforts that are aligned with the Paris Agreement. The highest Performance Band assigned to all companies assessed was a C, CEC said.
The results will feed into investor-led engagement activities with focus list companies, providing investors with the information to highlight inconsistencies between companies stated climate ambitions and their actual policy engagement.
