Norwegian sovereign wealth fund demands zero emissions from companies it invests in

The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, has unveiled a new program climate change risk management. As part of this program, the fund announced its intention to “decarbonize” its investment portfolio by 2050. This means that by this date, all companies in which the fund invests will have to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions, which is in line with the requirements of the Paris Accords.

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund owns stakes in more than 9,000 companies in 70 countries around the world, and its assets exceed $1.2 trillion. In a statement, the fund notes that climate change is fraught with serious consequences for human life, and will also “create significant risks for the global economy.”

The fund is interested in seeing the Paris climate accords implemented, as failure to do so poses “the greatest financial risk” and performance will “depend on how the companies in our portfolio cope with the transition to zero emissions.” The fund intends to work with companies in which it owns “to set reasonable preliminary targets and develop plans to reduce their direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions.” The fund has previously stated that it will not withdraw its investments from those companies that emit a lot of greenhouse gases, but, on the contrary, will remain an “active shareholder” in them in order to be able to effectively influence the improvement of the situation.

Alena Miklashevskaya