Publications

Market-leading insights and analysis to inform policy and engage internal and external stakeholders on the net-zero transition and resilience approaches and solutions for climate-sensitive sectors in North America.

See our publications below, or listen to our award-winning Sustainability Leaders podcast for more insights:

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Q&A: Why Voluntary Emissions Reporting Should Be a Priority

With net-zero commitments in mind, many regulators have been exploring mandates requiring that businesses report their greenhouse (GHG) emissions. Ho…

vertical forest on skyscraper
Understanding Biodiversity’s Impact on Business

Global biodiversity is crucial for the stability of our value chains, from the forests' timber to the bees that pollinate crops and the cotton sp…

The WE EMPOWER Challenge 2024 Awardees
Women Entrepreneurs are Advancing Sustainability: Reflecting on the Results of the WE Empower UN SD…

This year, BMO for Women was proud to once again participate as a sponsor and lead partner organization of the WE Empower UN Sustainable Development …

glass office building
Commercial Real Estate Climate Strategies: Managing the Risks

The best way to think of a climate strategy in the commercial real estate industry is that it is part of a business strategy. It concerns many stakeh…

two men and solar panels
Commercial Real Estate Climate Strategies: Exploring Opportunities

In many ways, the timing could not be better for North American commercial real estate owners and developers to make climate change strategies a busi…

man on scaffolding next to building
Canadian Zero-Carbon Multi-Unit Residential Buildings: An Analysis of the Cost and Asset Value

The built environment represents a significant share of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,1 with over half of these emissions from residenti…

Farm and solar panels
Three Ways Canadian Agriculture is Making Sustainable Progress

As one of the world’s largest food exporters, Canada’s economy owes gratitude to its farmers. The combined agriculture, food and beverage…

four men standing
Retrofit Financing Helps Innovative Developer Convert Halifax Office Tower

The Centennial Building is one of Halifax, Nova Scotia's, first high-rise buildings. It’s no surprise that a structure completed in 1967 wa…

tractor
Counting the Cost of Climate Risks in U.S. Agriculture

From repeated crop failures in Michigan's fruit belt, which produces 70% of U.S. tart cherries,1 to organic apple growers in Washington fighting …

A group of business people around a table
How Businesses Can Navigate Canada’s Climate Policy Framework

Canada’s latest National Inventory Report highlighted a 7% decline in greenhouse gas emissions, demonstrating progress toward the goal of reduc…

flowers in front of a government building
Seven Climate Takeaways from Canada’s Budget 2024

Budget 2024 carries forward the government’s commitment to climate programming, building incrementally on a larger portfolio of climate initiat…

Trucks at an EV charging station
Carbon Accounting: How to Strengthen Corporate Climate Plans

Carbon accounting is the process of measuring the emissions from the activities within the boundaries of your business." – Brent Thumlert,…

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Battery Technology Advances Are Driving EV Industry Optimism

Despite a "hint of a slowdown" in global electric vehicle (EV) sales, innovations in battery technology and vehicle efficiency will keep th…

picture of a government building
Climate Risk: Regulatory Developments to Watch in 2024

This year will feature a flurry of regulations, government guidance, and new incentives regarding climate risk. Among the developments:  …

image made with words
What COP28 Means for the Future of the Energy Transition

“It was a great privilege to be at COP28 representing BMO and helping advance the matter on common efforts in the fight against climate change …

city building and roof
Moving Corporate Sustainability from Silo to Core Business

Corporate climate action appears to be reaching a new phase. More companies in the United States and Canada are implementing mitigation plans to redu…

News Release
News Releases

BMO Arranges Green Financing to Fund New Lawson Centre for Sustainability, Trinity College's Most Significant Build in a Century   Fir…

Heat from the sun
Extreme Temperatures: How North American Cities Amplify Climate Change

After record-breaking heat in the summer, 2023 is on track to be the hottest year ever. Sustainability Leaders podcast is live on all m…

Clean energy logos
The C-Suite Is Increasingly in Front on Climate

Michael Torrance, Chief Sustainability Officer, sat down with Melissa Fifield, Head of the BMO Climate Institute, to discuss the key findings and tre…

Picture of hand with green background
Hear from Inspiring Women Entrepreneurs

Through our partnership with the BMO for Women program, we recently connected with five incredible women entrepreneurs who are using their businesses…

picture of solar panels
Why the Future of Solar Energy is Buoyant

On a pond in California's wine country, an expanse of nearly 5,000 solar panels powers the small Town of Windsor's water treatment facility. …

picture of the ocean and the sun
Solving for the Ocean Plastic Crisis: 4Ocean in Conversation

“One of our slogans that we say a lot is it's a nudge don't judge. We're trying to nudge people in the right direction and not judg…

Textile designer choosing fabric
Transforming the Textile Industry: Apparel Impact Institute in Conversation

“We need to move away from a materials matrix that looks like 67% fossil fuel-based materials and start accelerating the use of circular materi…

Recycling earth
BMO Climate Institute Business Leaders Survey

Nearly Half of Business Leaders in the U.S. and Canada Believe Climate Change Has Already Affected Their Businesses, but Few Have a Strategy The s…

Image of truck driving on road with hydrogen icon
Reducing Emissions in the Transportation Sector

This is part 2 of a 2-part series on Decarbonization and Electrification of the Transportation. For Part 1 by the Climate Institute, see here.  …

People walking
3 Climate Week Insights to Drive Action at COP28

After enjoying the beautiful weather and stimulating discussions at Climate Week NYC, I headed home and was immediately met with gray, smoky air blan…

Hazy cityscape
How CFOs Can Address Climate Risk

The impact of extreme weather patterns, mega-fires, and policy shifts toward a low-carbon economy are putting pressure on finance teams across i…

Trees
Protecting Outdoor Spaces: The Conservation Alliance in Conversation

"We want to start to do a better job connecting people to the places that we're working to protect. Because once you get to experience a pla…

Hikers admiring trees
Building Meaningful Connections with Nature: Parks California in Conversation

“It's an absolute joy to work across the state of California if you think about how diverse the state is from a natural standpoint, how div…

images of panelists
Why Businesses Need to Accelerate Their Efforts to Fight Climate Change

While both the United States and Canada are making progress toward achieving net-zero emissions commitments, businesses must accelerate their efforts…

People in a business meeting
Why CFOs Should Be Enterprise Sustainability Leaders

As the CFO of a Fortune 500 company for six years, Elyse Douglas realized that for her business to reap the full benefits of ESG efforts, she would h…

Green chart
How Carbon Capture Investments Can Generate Carbon Credits

Canada is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050,1 and finding ways to expand and monetize the compliance and voluntary credit market…

Grass and industrial
Taking Canada’s building retrofits to the next level

The buildings that we work, study, and live in are responsible for more than a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). There…

Hand Holding Sun
Hope and Opportunities in a Time of Extremes

Amid a steady stream of news about extreme temperatures and natural disasters, Melissa Fifield, the head of the BMO Climate Institute, distinguishes …

Electric vehicle
How Auto Dealers Are Helping Drive the Transition to Net Zero

Carmakers are working toward net zero, but eliminating carbon emissions altogether, the source of 15% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, will requir…

Mountains
The Canadian Wildfires Are Still Burning: Experts Explain

By the end of June, Canada was already experiencing its worst wildfire season in recorded history. Hundreds of out-of-control infernos had incinerate…

Setting the Climate Change Agenda - From Policy to Clean Tech Investments Panel
Clock Ticking for Climate Change Solutions – US-Canada Summit

As the frequency of extreme weather events continues to rise, the effects of climate change are quickly becoming less abstract, and while the race to…

Michael Torrance at IBM Conference
Quick Listen: Michael Torrance on Empowering Your Organization to Operationalize Sustainability

Michael Torrance recently participated in a panel at the IBM THINK Conference to discuss sustainability and the role financial institutions play in c…

copper
North America’s Critical Minerals Advantage: Deep Dive on Community Engagement

Susan McGeachie is joined by Remi Piet, Co-Founder & Senior Partner at Embellie Advisory on the ground at BMO’s 32nd annual Global Metals, …

Person standing on a flooded street
IPCC Report Issues Final Climate Warning for Decade

Immediate, concerted action on mitigation and adaptation measures could still save the world from intensifying climate disasters, but only if we act …

Panelist from Critical Minerals Mining Panel.
Exploring North America’s Critical Minerals Advantage: Global Metals, Mining & Critical Minerals Co…

Can North America become a leader in critical minerals mining? That’s a question that was explored by a panel of industry experts at BMO’…

Wind and Rain
Can U.S. REITs Take the Heat (Wind and Rain)

Climate change is altering weather patterns in significant and meaningful ways. If these weather events continue to grow in frequency and intensity, …

Photo of a globe with illustration of connectivity infrastructure
Interview: Electrifying Canada and the Competitive Imperative

Climate change is an existential crisis but also a generational opportunity to transition to a cleaner, more sustainable future and a prosperous econ…

Greenhouse lettuce
North America’s role in future proofing tomorrow’s food supply

With the global population forecast to grow to more than nine billion by 2050, it came as little surprise that food security was a key theme at the B…

Aerial view of downtown Toronto
Achieving Canada’s Net-Zero Ambition Requires a Paradigm Shift

Susan McGeachie is joined by Dan Wicklum, President and CEO of The Transition Accelerator, a pan-Canadian charity that creates positive, transfo…

News Release
BMO Climate Institute Survey Shows Costs and Competing Priorities Slowing Climate Action for Small …

  Survey shows small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Canada and the U.S. are concerned about the impacts of climate ch…

EV battery
EV Acceleration: The IRA's Value Chain Strategy with BCG

There’s currently a heavy focus on the implications of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to the EV transition and the importance of building ou…

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Analyzing Climate Change Risk for US REITs

In this edition of our IN Tune podcast, we sit down with Doug Morrow and Juan Sanabria from BMO’s equity research team to discuss the key findi…

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COP27 in Focus: Will Energy Security and Economic Uncertainty Impact the Climate Transition?

Business and governments face big challenges, but are still committed to action  Between rising global tensions and economic uncertainty, thi…

A silhouette of a person jumping across a gap to a rocky outcrop with commitment
Advancing economic reconciliation in the low carbon transition

Canada’s second annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation comes at a time of resolute reflection on the extent to which the effects of i…

electric vehicle
Reaching the EV Tipping Point

Policy support, improvements in battery technology, more charging infrastructure, and new compelling models from automakers are a few key reasons why…

Silhouettes of two people running and jumping across a gap to a rocky outcrop with commitment
Have we reached a climate tipping point?

Last month Bloomberg announced that the US has reached a  tipping point for mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). According to their an…

A silhouette of a person jumping across a gap to a rocky outcrop with commitment
New Lens – and opportunity – on a longstanding issue

As we come to the end of Indigenous History Month, I’m reminded of Virginia Woolf’s Room of One’s Own essay, in which the…

farmer harvesting
The Case for Climate Justice: Patricia Fuller in Conversation

The manifestations of climate change - from oppressive heat to torrential floods – can impact vulnerable peoples the most. In this episode of S…

Silhouettes of two people running and jumping across a gap to a rocky outcrop with commitment
Canada’s Climate Change Plan Only the First Step on the Journey to Net Zero

Canada’s Emissions Reduction Plan 2030 and the subsequent budget are critical to reaching net zero by the middle of the century, but they are o…

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Retrofitting Canada's Building Sector: Efficiency Canada’s Corey Diamond in Conversation

For Canada to reach its goal of being net zero by 2050, we’re going to have to retrofit our entire building sector, cutting emissions from resi…

Green lawn with trees
Driving the Climate Change Conversation: The BMO Climate Institute

It’s been a year since BMO declared its Net-Zero Ambition, pledging to reach net zero by 2050. This ambition included the launch of the BM…

Silhouettes of two people running and jumping across a gap to a rocky outcrop with commitment
Tracking Resilience on the Road to Net Zero

When Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau addressed the COP26 UNFCC assembly, calling on the world to do “more, and faster” to st…

housing
Decarbonizing Canada’s Housing Market

Canada is committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its economy by 2050, and opportunities to reduce emissions in the housing m…

Silhouettes of two people running and jumping across a gap to a rocky outcrop with commitment
Leveraging Carbon Markets to Accelerate Climate Solutions

When BMO pre-purchased 1,000 tonnes of carbon removal units late last year, it was more than just a step toward achieving our carbon neutrality …

space station
Using Geospatial Big Data for Climate, Finance and Sustainability

“I think we've been living in a world that [believes that] somehow the economy lives outside of the environment, and that’s a myth. A…

Sun Glare Frost
The Risk of Permafrost Thaw on People, Infrastructure & Our Future Climate

"There are huge areas of permafrost that contain a significant amount of organic matter. Now that the climate is warming and impacting permafros…

flooded road
Climate Change & Flood Risk: Implications for Real Estate Markets

“We're not going backward on climate change. Climate change has happened, is happening, and will continue to happen, and the severity of ev…

reduce co2
What to Expect out of COP26: Interview with IETA CEO

“Working together, you can tap the lowest cost opportunities in any given place. And as you're pursuing net zero, you can tap into the oppo…