To prevent catastrophic global warming, international banks, insurers, and wealth managers have vowed to require businesses they finance through lending or investing to cut emissions to zero by 2050.
Read more: Canada’s big banks, insurers join with BoC for climate risk pilot
Manulife and Sun Life have committed to reducing funded emissions, but they collectively manage C$2.84 trillion ($2.13 trillion) in assets. For Investors for Paris Compliance, which wants to hold businesses accountable for net zero commitments, that means the two insurers must be aggressive to meet their goals.
“It’s important to put into context the impact these companies are having on the Canadian and global economy and how important it is for them to take meaningful action,” Kyra Bell-Pasht, director of research and policy at Investors for Paris Compliance, told Bloomberg News.
The group maintained that both Manulife and Sun Life should establish intermediate goals for their reduction that are in line with climate science, as well as improve how they measure, report, and fund emissions.
