Policy Activists Get Tough On Climate Change

As we previously predicted in a 2014 article, The Rise of Policy Activists?, policy activism in Canada is gaining speed. In this year's upcoming proxy season, a hot topic for policy activists is the potential transition to a global low-carbon economy.

Canada is currently working towards a national climate change plan and one of the tools being considered is a national carbon tax. If implemented, energy companies would be required to pay a national tax on greenhouse gas emissions.

One of Suncor's shareholders, NEI Investments, filed a shareholder proposal last month demanding that Suncor address its long-term survival plans. In particular, it demands that Suncor "provide ongoing reporting on how it is assessing, and ensuring, long-term corporate resilience in a future low-carbon economy."