Canadian pension manager the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) on Thursday launched a C$1bn ($745m) fund dedicated to investing in the global energy transition and decarbonisation sectors.
The initial C$1bn cash injection into the new Energy Transition Opportunities Pool represents fresh capital, AIMCo said in a press statement. It added that many of its clients have allocated funds to the pool, which will look to invest in industrial decarbonisation, carbon capture and sequestration, renewable fuels, low-carbon and renewable energy production, and related technologies such as electrification, battery storage and energy efficiency.
AIMCo executive managing director Ben Hawkins said: “We are gratified by our clients’ commitment both to the new pool and to our shared objective of supporting and benefitting from energy transition and decarbonisation opportunities.”
The company, which currently manages C$158bn in assets, joins other Canadian pension funds that have already established dedicated green funds.
The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, one of the world’s biggest retirement schemes, announced plans in 2022 to invest around C$5bn in what it calls "high carbon transition assets", although it did not specify a time frame for this investment. Canada Pension Plan Investments, Canada’s biggest pension fund, does not have a specific green fund but has allocated C$79bn to green transition assets and hopes to grow this to C$130bn.
Marlene Puffer, AIMCo’s chief investment officer, said the company has been evaluating climate change risks and opportunities for the past decade and has already made investments in the energy transition space. “Our climate approach provides important transparency around how we consider climate in our investments and how we will, over the long run, help reduce emissions.”
Despite its investment in climate change mitigation technologies, AIMCo said just last week it would be interested in buying a stake in Canada's Trans Mountain oil pipeline if it became available. The pipeline, currently closed for expansion works, will nearly triple the flow of oil from Alberta to Canada's Pacific Coast to 890,000 barrels per day.
