Intact Financial just released its 2024 ESG report in time for its AGM today. In our analysis of the company’s net zero progress last year, we highlighted signals of leadership, including its pledge to divest from coal companies without a 2035 exit plan and to remove oil and gas firms from its investment universe by 2024 if they failed to demonstrate credible transition progress.
But in 2024, following Canada’s most expensive year ever for insured losses, that momentum appears to be in question. What was once a set of clear, time-bound commitments has given way to less defined language.
Intact’s investment arm, IIM, has lowered its engagement threshold from 25% to 20% of revenue derived from thermal coal — a welcome move. But the specific 2035 divestment requirement has been publicly removed. Instead, IIM now states that it may divest from companies lacking a “satisfactory” plan, but offers no details on what qualifies as satisfactory, nor any timeline for action.
The oil and gas policy has undergone a similar shift. The earlier approach included a clear engagement timeline and a 2024 deadline for companies to demonstrate progress. That language has since disappeared.
These changes, taken together, suggest a broader trend of treading water. Policies remain, but forward motion has slowed. Deadlines have disappeared. Thresholds are evolving and consequences blurring.
At Intact’s Annual General Meeting today, we raised these concerns directly. We acknowledged the company’s past commitments and asked whether Intact would re-commit to specificity. In response, CEO Charles Brindamour said that while some language had changed, the “essence of the policy” remained intact. He emphasized that results matter more than formal commitments, as well as the importance of staying at the table with companies to pressure them toward credible transitions. While we appreciated his response, the reduction in specificity and clarity won’t help with that pressure – it will diminish it.
The broader pattern was reflected in Brindamour’s 2024 letter to shareholders, which called for greater government support and collective efforts to adapt to climate risk, but did not pair that with a call for emissions reductions. There was no recognition that underwriting fossil fuel expansion works against adaptation goals, or that staying the course on transition policies is crucial even amid political headwinds.
As Canada’s leading P&C insurer, Intact is uniquely positioned to guide the industry through the turbulence of a warming world. But leadership requires momentum. Without timelines, transparency, and firm guardrails, there’s a risk that Intact’s climate strategy won’t keep pace with the growing risks it’s meant to address.
