The Alberta Securities Commission has agreed to review a complaint from Greenpeace Canada alleging incomplete disclosure of climate-related risks by Suncor Energy. The complaint alleges that Suncor removed the warnings on potential stranded oil sands assets in its low-carbon scenario that had appeared in previous years’ climate risk reporting, even as the company increased its exposure to stranded assets by selling off its wind and solar assets in favour of greater investment in the oil sands. Under Alberta’s securities law, a failure to fully disclose risks to shareholders can result in fraud charges or class action lawsuits.
“Suncor has stopped warning investors of the risk that a significant slice of its oil sands assets will be worthless in a low carbon future, even as it doubles down on oil sands and sells off previous investments in wind and solar energy,” said Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist for Greenpeace Canada. “Deleting information about stranded assets doesn’t make that risk go away. The Alberta Securities Commission needs to make Suncor management come clean with investors and the public on how its new business strategy only works in a world where the climate crisis rages unchecked.”
Greenpeace Canada presented its arguments in a 10-page briefing note that compared Suncor’s 2023 disclosures to earlier versions. Suncor began releasing an annual climate risk report following the near-unanimous (98%) passage of a shareholder resolution calling for such disclosures in 2016.
In each of its 2017-2020 Climate Risk and Resilience reports, the Company reported that “No existing assets are stranded” in the “Expected impacts on Suncor” section of its low-carbon scenario, but that “New oil sands growth projects are challenged and unlikely to proceed.”[1] In 2021 and 2022, its low carbon scenario warned of stranded assets and a need to grow its low carbon power portfolio while reducing emission from its oil sands operations.[2]
In its July 2023 climate risk report, Suncor removed the “Expected impacts on Suncor” from its scenario analysis.[3] This action was preceded by an October 2022 announcement that Suncor intended to sell all of its wind and solar assets[4] and purchase a larger share of the Fort Hills oil sands mine.[5] Suncor’s new CEO Rich Kruger made it clear that this was part of a new business strategy when he said in August 2023 that the company had “a bit of a disproportionate emphasis on the longer-term energy transition” and that “Today, we win by creating value through our large integrated asset base underpinned by oilsands.”[6]
The Greenpeace Canada submission to the Alberta Securities Commission argues that this shift in business strategy increases Suncor’s vulnerability to climate-related transition risks and stranded assets in a low carbon future. Therefore Greenpeace Canada is asking the Alberta Securities Commission to investigate whether Suncor failed to provide adequate disclosure of climate-related transition risks associated with the recent shift in its business strategy and, at a minimum, to order Suncor to reinstate the “Expected impacts on Suncor” in its climate risk disclosures.
ENDS
Notes to editor:
Greenpeace Canada submission to the Alberta Securities Commission is available at https://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-canada-stateless/2023/10/5f0f702e-greenpeace-canada-2023-alberta-securities-commission-complaint-re-suncor-climate-disclosures.pdf
[1] Links to all of Suncor’s annual Climate disclosure reports can be found in the Greenpeace Canada submission and at https://www.suncor.com/en-ca/sustainability/sustainability-reporting/archived-reports
[2] “Some producing upstream assets may be retired before the end of their producing life. We grow our business in renewable fuels, low-carbon power and hydrogen. We sustain and optimize our existing hydrocarbon business, reducing its carbon footprint.” Source: https://sustainability.suncor.com/-/media/project/ros/shared/documents/climate-reports/2021-climate-report-en.pdf
For more information, please contact:
Keith Stewart, Senior energy strategist, Greenpeace Canada
[email protected] ; +1 416 659-0294