British Columbia Investment Management Corp., Victoria, announced plans to allocate C$5 billion ($4 billion) to sustainability bonds over the next five years.
The management company for public pension and other provincial assets also plans to reduce the carbon exposure of its global public equities portfolio by 30% from its 2019 levels by 2025.
These moves are part of an initiative to make its public markets portfolio more carbon neutral and environmentally conscious over the next five years, BCIMC spokesman Ben O'Hara-Byrne confirmed in an email.
"These targets balance ambition with feasibility and provide a clearly defined pathway for BCI to seize on climate-related investment opportunities and reduce the climate transition risk of our public markets portfolio," said Daniel Garant, executive vice president and global head of public markets, in a news release.
Mr. Garant added that he "believes that gradually lowering exposure to carbon-intensive companies, and engaging with companies and regulators to adapt to the low-carbon economy will lead to better financial outcomes for our clients."
BCIMC managed C$171.3 billion in assets as of March 31, 2020, of which 65.9%, or $112.8 billion, is in public markets.
