Last month, Mark Machin, CEO of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), wrote that climate change is the crisis beyond COVID-19 that we can’t afford to ignore, stating that “the full effects will depend on the actions we take now and in the future.”

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We strongly agree.

So why, then, is CPP pouring billions of our retirement savings into oil, gas and coal companies that are incompatible with a safe climate?

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A new legal analysis by the Canada Climate Law Initiative (CCLI) raises serious questions about CPP’s commitment to transition to a clean economy. The report highlights CPP’s significant fossil fuel investments and raises red flags over troubling private equity investments in oil and gas.

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One such red flag is its ownership of Crestone Peak Resources, a Denver-based fracking company. Four former or current CPP employees who oversaw its purchase in 2016 now sit on Crestone’s board of directors or executive team.

Crestone’s operations have been plagued by controversy. The company drilled wells close to schools, homes and playgrounds, generating thousands of complaints to Colorado’s oil and gas regulator about air quality, toxic fumes, gas leaks, earthquakes, explosions, health problems and illnesses.

The Globe and Mail reported that Crestone responded by donating more than US$600,000 to pro-fracking candidates and interest groups in Colorado’s 2018 state elections.

That’s right, a fracking company owned by our national pension appears to have spent money to influence elections in Colorado to block protections for the environment and public health.

Read more @National Observer