EJQ3 - Winter 2025 - Journal - Page 46
and climate-related disclosures. With this in mind, we engaged Saryyeva
to discuss the importance of these initiatives and other trends impacting
sustainable 昀椀nance.
What do you think are the biggest obstacles to meeting net zero targets
and supporting sustainable 昀椀nance in Canada?
High-emitting sectors: Canada’s unique economic structure suggests
that early and e昀昀ective transition investment in hard-to-abate sectors
will dictate whether Canada will be able to meet its 2050 net zero emission targets. Oil and gas, transportation, buildings, heavy industry, and
agriculture contributed to over 85 per cent of Canada’s emissions in 2022,
with each sector posing unique decarbonization challenges.
MAYA SARYYEVA, INTERIM
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT THE
INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE
FINANCE (ISF) AT SMITH SCHOOL OF
BUSINESS, QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY.
An additional challenge in transition 昀椀nance is the lack of 1.5C-degree
aligned transition-linked 昀椀nancial products to bridge the gap between
sustainability-focused investors and 昀椀rms in emissions-intensive industries. Transition-linked agreements will help to assure investors that
their capital is contributing to constructive outcomes while giving progressive companies access to competitively priced capital.
Need for mandatory disclosure framework: Consumers and investors re-
E N V I RON M E N T J OURN A L QUA RT E RLY RE PORT • W I N T ER 2 02 5 • P AG E 4 6
