Posts by James Rowe

James Rowe

About James Rowe

James Rowe is an Associate Professor in the School of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria and a co-investigator with the Corporate Mapping Project.

Smoke stack

For climate’s sake, Canada Pension Plan needs to take a serious look at its investments

Sep 10, 2021
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The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) manages the pensions of 20 million Canadians. In a recent Corporate Mapping Project report, we found that the CPP has increased the number of shares it owns in fossil fuel companies since Canada signed the Paris Agreement five years ago. The CPP’s total fossil fuel investments across its entire portfolio… View Article

CPP oil investments on the rise

Aug 12, 2021
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From unprecedented droughts to deadly heat waves, climate change is making the present—and all of our futures—less secure. The dream of a tranquil retirement is already being interrupted by nightmares such as the wildfires raging across BC and Alberta this summer.  Sadly, the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), which was designed to enhance our retirement security,… View Article

Why has UBC divested from fossil fuels but UVic has not? The high cost of industry influence

Jun 16, 2020
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The death and disruption wrought by COVID-19 is calamitous. The bad news is that climate change will be worse. It is easy to forget that 2020 began with Australia burning in a brutal wildfire season. Like the current pandemic, Australia’s disaster was predicted years in advance by ecological science. As we slowly emerge from the… View Article

BC public pensions fuel climate change crisis

Jun 25, 2018
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If you have a public pension in BC, your retirement savings are likely fuelling the climate change crisis. The pensions of over half a million British Columbians are administered by the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), formerly known as the bcIMC. It’s the fourth largest pension fund manager in Canada and controls one of… View Article

The University of Victoria seeks to profit from climate change deniers and policy obstructionists: The Exxon connection

Nov 3, 2017
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The school year is now well under way. For many new students starting at the University of Victoria, the university’s stated commitments to sustainability were likely attractive, especially for BC residents whose summers were haunted by relentless wildfires. Given the needed move towards low-carbon economies it makes excellent sense for students to select universities that… View Article