The Maple Eight plan aims to achieve $70 billion in Climate Transition Aligned private investments by 2030
The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board – also known as Ontario Teachers’ (OTTP) - has launched an ambitious climate strategy for 2026 to 2030, setting its sights on $70 billion in climate transition-aligned private investments by the end of the decade, roughly double its current holdings, according to a recent press release.
The strategy, announced Thursday, signals a decisive shift in how one of the world's largest pension funds intends to navigate the energy transition. Rather than relying primarily on emissions-intensity metrics, the pension plan aims to pivot toward measuring real-world impact through direct investment in companies enabling decarbonization.
Ontario Teachers’ CEO and president, Jo Taylor, framed the strategy as both a fiduciary imperative and a historic investment opportunity.
“Our climate strategy recognizes that the world’s shift to cleaner energy is underway and represents a generational investment opportunity that stands to reshape economies,” said Taylor in a release. “By focusing our ambitions in private investing and active ownership where we have influence, we are positioning the Fund to remain resilient and constructively contribute to the transition through the companies in which we invest.”
According to the Plan, the strategy rests on two pillars. The first focuses on deploying capital into climate solutions: companies whose products, services, or technologies reduce or remove greenhouse gas emissions, manage climate-related risks, or help scale the broader transition.
Meanwhile, the second centres on accelerating credible transition planning among portfolio companies, working directly with management teams to identify decarbonization levers, assess technology and capital requirements, and prepare for a shifting energy landscape.
Anna Murray, senior managing director and global head of sustainable investing at OTTP, described the strategy as a “pragmatic evolution” that leans into Ontario Teachers' strengths as a private investor.
“Accelerating the global energy transition will require a significant role for private capital, and we are pleased to set out an ambition that can have a real-world impact through working with our companies to advance transition planning and directing capital toward attractive investments in sectors tangibly enabling the energy transition,” she said.
The strategy's underlying framework has been reviewed and endorsed by the Climate Bonds Initiative, a respected international organization focused on mobilizing capital for climate action.
CEO and co-founder of Climate Bonds Initiative Sean Kidney called the framework “an example of what leading global investors are doing to deliver a more impactful approach to accelerating and investing in the much-needed energy transition.”
The new strategy arrives on the heels of a notable milestone as Ontario Teachers' achieved an approximately 50 per cent reduction in emissions intensity from its 2019 baseline, meeting its 2025 target ahead of schedule. That early success provided the foundation and the confidence for a more forward-looking framework, the Plan noted in the release.
As part of this evolution, the fund will retire its previously announced 2030 interim emissions-intensity target, folding those efforts into the new Climate Transition Aligned framework. While emissions intensity remains a useful tool for comparing individual companies, the fund has concluded it is insufficient for measuring real-world progress on the energy transition, the plan noted.
The pension plan will begin reporting progress toward its 2030 target in its 2026 Annual Report, alongside continued disclosure of the fund's portfolio carbon footprint.
The fund also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the global goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, with plans for its portfolio to be primarily invested in transition-aligned or low-emissions assets by that date.
OTTP isn't the first Canadian plan to announce a climate strategy. Last year, La Caisse announced their committment to scale up its investments in climate solutions and transition-aligned companies with a target of $400 billion by 2030.
