ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE, CHANGE COURSE, ECOJUSTICE, INVESTORS FOR PARIS COMPLIANCE, SHIFT: ACTION FOR PENSION WEALTH AND PLANET HEALTH
Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People – To mark the 10-year anniversary of Mark Carney’s “Tragedy of the Horizon” speech today, global organizations are calling for stronger regulatory action to tackle the growing risks of climate change on our financial system. The speech, made when Carney was the Governor of the Bank of England, kicked off a decade of initiatives related to climate risk. Yet, the statement by the organizations concludes that the financial system remains underprepared for climate risks and continues to favour investments in fossil fuels over clean energy.
Before becoming Prime Minister Mark Carney testified that Canada is “falling short of international standards” relating to climate finance policy. His government has not yet introduced any related measures. The global statement released today calls for regulators to require climate related transition plans and to recognize the financial risks from fossil fuel investments.
Key facts related to Canadian climate finance:
- Canadian banks provide more finance to polluting oil and gas relative to new clean renewable energy relative to global peers according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. In 2024 alone they provided $134.9 billion to fossil fuel companies.
- Canadian institutions are some of the world’s largest investors in fossil fuels, with RBC, Sun Life, Power Corporation, TD, and Manulife each holding over C$20 billion in related shares and bonds.
- Insurable damages from climate change in Canada cost C$8.5 billion in 2024, doubling what were record-breaking costs in the two prior years.
- In 2023, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions introduced B-15: Climate Risk Management for climate risk disclosures from large financial institutions. However, it does not require developing plans to address those climate risks.
- In 2025, Canadian securities regulators paused work on moving to require economy-wide climate disclosure.
- According to polling, the majority of Canadians support new sustainable finance regulations from the government, with support rising to 78 per cent when the regulations are related to addressing greenwashing from the financial sector.
Quotes:
Julie Segal, Senior Manager of Climate Finance at Environmental Defence says, “Canada’s financial system is outrageously unprepared for climate change. The past decade of commitments from the financial sector to voluntarily address climate risks have been insufficient, and as a result the climate risks to our whole economy have piled up. Polling shows that Canadians support regulations, including a requirement for large companies and financial actors to publish climate transition plans. Prime Minister Carney alerted investors about climate change with his speech about the Tragedy of the Horizon. The tragedy of climate change is firmly at our eye level, not merely a future horizon, and the speech offered advice which Canada should heed.”
Kyra Bell-Pasht, Director of Research and Policy, Investor for Paris Compliance says, “Carney’s speech sparked a wave of net-zero activity across Canada’s financial sector, but these voluntary efforts haven’t delivered the portfolio shifts climate action demands. Now, as Prime Minister, he has a unique chance to move beyond disclosure and implement the reforms needed to align finance with climate reality.”
Karine Peloffy, Lawyer and Sustainable Finance Lead, Ecojustice says, “In Prime Minister Carney’s seminal speech, he exposed three critical climate-related financial risks. Yet, in the decade since, one has fallen off the radar despite growing urgency: liability risk. Indeed, Oxford researchers have found that investors are flying blind to the rising tide of climate lawsuits — this is happening even as dozens of high-stakes cases pile up against fossil fuel giants, with trillions of dollars in potential liability on the line.”
Adam Scott, Executive Director, Shift: Action for Pension Wealth & Planet Health says, “Climate change is fast becoming a defining issue for financial stability. As Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney has a rapidly closing window to demonstrate that he hasn’t forgotten his own words. He must take urgent action to regulate the financial sector to align with climate stability, before it’s too late.
In these challenging times, it’s easy to forget that the arc of the moral universe does bend toward justice. If governments, polluters, and financial institutions that fund them continue to sacrifice future generations on the altar of short-term profits for the few, the courts will increasingly be called upon to hold them accountable.”
Levi Clarkson, Ontario & East Coast Campus Organizing Lead, Change Course says, “Students and young people are feeling the effects of the climate crisis right now, having just lived through another summer of deadly heat waves and wildfires sweeping across the country. It has been a decade since Mark Carney’s speech on climate risk in the financial sector, and yet we have not seen any meaningful action to mitigate the climate crisis since he was elected.
Instead of regulating the financial sector and putting a stop to corporate greenwashing, Carney is fast-tracking projects under the guise of “nation-building” with zero regard for environmental protections or Indigenous rights. Our collective futures are at stake, and we are calling on Canadian governments and financial institutions to invest in a liveable future now instead of burning it down.”
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
ABOUT ECOJUSTICE (ecojustice.ca): Ecojustice uses the power of the law to defend nature, combat climate change and fight for a healthy environment. Its strategic, public interest lawsuits and advocacy lead to precedent-setting court decisions, law and policy that deliver lasting solutions to Canada’s most urgent environmental problems. As Canada’s largest environmental law charity, Ecojustice operates offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax.
ABOUT SHIFT: ACTION FOR PENSION WEALTH AND PLANET HEALTH is a charitable initiative that works to protect pensions and the climate. Shift is a project of MakeWay Canada.
ABOUT CHANGE COURSE: Change Course is a youth-led nonprofit based in so-called Canada. We support grassroots organizing on campuses and in communities, targeting fossil fuel funding banks, and advocating for climate justice and Indigenous Sovereignty. Together we are demanding an end to all financial support for the fossil fuel industry.
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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Alex Ross, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca
Cari Siebrits, Ecojustice, csiebrits@ecojustice.ca, (416) 368-7533 ext. 504
