The major investors in Canada’s fossil fuel sector have high stakes in maintaining business as usual rather than addressing the industry’s serious climate issues, says a new Corporate Mapping Project study.
And as alarms ring over our continued dependence on natural gas, coal and oil, these investors have both an interest in the continued growth of Canada’s fossil fuel sector and the economic power to shape its future.
Substantial ownership and strategic control of Canada’s fossil fuel sector are in the hands of a few major players, including all the Canadian big banks and several US investment funds, governments and some wealthy families—many of which are located outside Canada.
Rising levels of Canadian corporate ownership and control of the sector appear to have made little difference in how the industry functions, and the trend towards more Canadian corporate control of fossil fuel extraction has not brought improvements.