Press release
Immediate release
Analysis of the CDPQ’s Carbon 50 performance: fossil gas, the blind spot in our Quebec stocking
Montreal, May 15 2023 – The Sortons la Caisse du carbone coalition presents its eighth report on the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec’s (CDPQ) top 50 fossil fuel investments(“Carbon 50”), which shows that the exponential growth of renewable energies places fossil fuels in a high asset depreciation scenario in the short term, which seems to be in the blind spot of the CDPQ’s current strategic vision, according to their most recent position on it.
Performance of Carbon 50
The Sortons la Caisse du carbone coalition analyzed the performance of the 50 oil and gas development and transportation companies in which the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has held its largest stock investments since 2011. « Our analysis shows that if the money in the Carbon 50 had been disinvested and placed in one of the three comparative indices used (CDPQ’s global equity portfolio, Dow Jones and MSCI ACWI ex fossil fuel), the Caisse would have allowed Quebecers to obtain a higher return of between $11.6 and $14.4 billion, » explains Sébastien Collard, spokesperson and author of the Carbon 50 report. « The year 2022 is only the third year in which the performance of the Carbon 50 is superior to the stock market indexes with which we compare it (e.g. Dow Jones), » he continues.
The decline of fossil fuels
Despite the divestiture of the oil sector, the coalition continues to identify $8.1 billion in equity and bond market investments by the CDPQ in gas development and hydrocarbon (gas and oil) distribution and transportation. « Our report presents data showing the pace of the ongoing decline of the hydrocarbon sector. Globally in 2021, electricity generated by wind and solar will be only one-sixth of that generated by fossil fuels. This may seem surprising, but the current trend suggests that new renewable energy installations will produce as much electricity as those produced by coal, oil and gas in just 8 years, » explains Sébastien Collard. « The investment view recommended in our report ignores situational fluctuations and removes the biases that prevent us from fully understanding the workings and speed of the ongoing transition. ».
In addition to the economic risks that the Caisse imposes on its depositors, the Caisse’s investments in an outdated economic model contribute to global warming, harm human health, divide communities and prevent citizens from budgeting properly because of fluctuations in the price of fossil fuels. « For all these reasons, the next step to be taken by the Caisse is to get out of the gas and hydrocarbon transportation sectors, » concluded Sébastien Collard
To read a summary of Carbon 50 report
To read the full report (French only)
About the Sortons la Caisse du carbone coalition :
Through research, outreach, critique, and media exposure the Sortons la Caisse du carbone coalition is constructively pressuring the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) to become a leader in the just ecological transition and a catalyst for change in the financial sector. Its members are Eau Secours, Greenpeace Canada, Climate Justice Montreal (CWM), Mobilisation environnement Ahuntsic-Cartierville, the Climate Reality Project Canada and SNAP Quebec.
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For information :
Krystel Marylène Papineau
Responsible for the Coalition sortons la Caisse du carbone
krystel.papineau@sortonslacaisseducarbone.org
438 492 6537