The Government Pension Fund of Norway withdraws its investments from oil and mining companies that threat the environment and human rights

Oil observatory

NORWAY-

According to the sovereign wealth fund of Norway, the world´s largest investment fund, which holds the stakes from Norway´s oil wells, the economic investment must be governed by ethical principles. Consequently, the fund has banned investments from four of the top energy and raw material companies for their carbon emissions. The companies affected include Glencore (Switzerland), Anglo American (United Kingdom), both of them raw material companies, RWE (Germay), Sasol (South Africa), and AGL Energy (Netherlands). The companies, whose assets are worth a billion dollars, have been excluded from the pool of assets because of an evaluation based on environmental criteria.

Created in 1996 and backed by the oil and gas production, the fund holds around 1,5% of its stock publicly traded. It works in accordance with the ethical guidelines set by the parliament and excludes companies who do not comply with such guidelines. In addition to the mentioned coal-related
companies, four oil Canadian companies have been excluded from the fund due to excessive greenhouse gas emissions: Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, Suncor Energy, and Imperial Oil.

The Government Pension Fund of Norway stated that the companies were excluded because of their “unacceptable greenhouse gas emissions.” The fund´s policy is not new. Back to 2019, the government of Norway had already announced that it would no longer be involved in the oil sector in order to reduce the country´s dependency on the black gold.

It is, undoubtedly, a decision that represents a hard blow on the fossil fuels that cause environmental pollution across the world.

The Norges Bank has announced that the Fund has added two companies to its blacklist, including Glencore and Anglo American. Two other Brazilian companies have also been incorporated to the blacklist. Such companies are Vale, responsible for severe environmental damages, and Electrobras, which has been accused of violating human rights due to the new Belo Monte´s power station.

Members of the International Articulation of People affected by Vale have stated in Brazil: “The fact that Vale company has been excluded from the investments pool of the Pension Fund of Norway is an important sign for the world, as it confirms that this mining company is violating human rights and causing irreparable disasters and destructions. Somehow, it is also a wake-up call for the company to take effective and immediate measures. By doing so, the company will actually fulfill its duty to
provide security for the communities and its employees, and not just state its intentions of fulfilling them.

The Fund has investments in almost nine thousand companies in 77 countries over the world, including some companies from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Panama, and Peru.
In addition to the environmental criteria, the fund does not invest in companies connected to nuclear weapons, antipersonnel mines, tobacco, or companies linked to with human rights´ violations. The fund has thus excluded, this year, the Egyptian company ElSewedy Electric, the Brazilian mining company Vale (linked to the human and environmental catastrophe that took place in one of the company’s premises in the country), and the Brazilian electric company Eletrobras.

Taken in 2019, the Norway´s fund decision of limiting its investments in companies that contribute to climate change was subsequently adopted by the largest world funds. Five hundred and fifteen companies pertaining to the sector, which manage assets of 30 billion Euros), published last year a
letter requesting governments and companies a deeper commitment to fight climate change. The biggest of them, Blackrock, informed to its clients last January about specific measures. As a matter of fact, the management area warned Siemens in its last shareholders´ meeting because of its
collaboration with a carboniferous macro project in Australia.

The Churches and Mining Network, which promotes an international campaign of disinvestment in mining companies, approved of this Government Pension Fund´s decision, and stated that this is
another reason for religious entities in the world to hasten the withdrawal of their economic investment in this type of company that threatens human rights, communities, and environmental rights.

Sources: Agencies, Atingidos pela Vale, Justiça Nos Trilhos

Translation: Camila FelixFreelance Translator. To contact him: camianahi@gmail.com

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