Pension Investment in Renewables May Be Undermining a Just Transition

Jacobin, Zoë Yunker, James Rowe, Jessica Dempsey | Benjamin Braun

Pension investments in renewables sound like a win-win for the environment and retirees. But an examination of Canadian pension funds’ involvement in the sector tells a different story — one of labor exploitation and environmental harm. “Delegating a large share of investment to actors who are structurally forced to prioritize risk-adjusted return year after year just means that the just transition aspect is going to be neglected,” comments Benjamin Braun, senior researcher at the MPIfG, on the topic. “One doesn’t have to be an extreme pessimist to think that that will have ramifications for the success of the green transition.”
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