Fairfax shareholders voted on a proposal calling for the company to disclose its financed emissions during their annual general meeting last week.
The voting results, though released, did not break down the votes by shares controlled by the CEO and those voted by other shareholders. However, the proposal gained 38% of support from regular shareholders, or about 18% when factoring in the CEO’s vote against it.
According to Kiera Taylor of advocacy group Investors for Paris Compliance, the outcome signals significant shareholder interest in climate risk transparency, especially for a first-time filing.
Nearly 40% of independent shareholders are advocating for Fairfax to measure and disclose the emissions tied to its underwriting and investment activities.
“The company’s silence on this front is increasingly out of step. It is an outlier in the industry, and many of its shareholders think so too,” Taylor said.
Fairfax has already faced notable financial losses linked to climate change. In 2024, the company reported US$1.1 billion in catastrophe losses and expects up to US$750 million in net losses from the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. These events reflect the broader challenges insurers face as extreme weather events become more frequent and severe.
Despite these developments, Taylor said Fairfax has not yet disclosed its financed emissions, set a net-zero target, or aligned its operations with the global shift toward cleaner energy.
This puts the company behind many of its peers, both domestically and internationally, who have adopted climate targets and made emissions disclosures. Fairfax, for instance, remains one of the largest insurers of fossil fuels globally, with investments of over $1.5 billion in the sector.
The proposal to disclose financed emissions represents an initial step toward better climate risk management. The strong support from independent shareholders indicates a growing demand for transparency in how Fairfax assesses and addresses climate risks.
“Our resolution was about taking the first step toward modern climate risk management, starting with transparency, which is the bare minimum for shareholders to understand what risks they’re potentially taking on,” Taylor said.
Looking forward, Taylor added that there would be efforts to engage with Fairfax management on next steps, focusing on the need for further disclosures and actions related to climate risk management.
