Norway Wealth Fund fails to meet its climate goals, according to NGO
A report from an environmental NGO on Tuesday said that Norway's $2.2 billion sovereign wealth fund is not engaging in climate change with the companies it invests in, despite its stated intentions to do so.
The fund will aim to have all the companies in which it invests reach zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. This is in accordance with the Paris Agreement. Around 7,200 companies are involved in the fund.
Norges Bank Investment Management, the fund's operator sets expectations on company boards regarding climate change. It also votes on the topic at the annual general meeting and has the option to divest if the companies do not respond. According to a report from the green group Framtiden i Vaare Hender, which was shared with?ahead its publication on Tuesday's, the fund does not meet its climate change goals.
The report examined the fund's voting records on 23 prioritised votes for 12 upstream oil and?and?gas developers such as BP, Shell, Petrobras and ExxonMobil that are expanding oil &?and?gas production.
The group claimed that NBIM only showed disapproval for management in three cases by voting against the reelection of directors of Petrobras ExxonMobil, and Chevron.
Lucy Brooks said that NBIM's voting record for 2025 shows a worrying lack of engagement on a major financial risk, namely?climate risks.
"Their most recent voting shows that a withdrawal from active engagement could become permanent."
The fund stated that it continues to expect its portfolio companies to align their operations with a net zero pathway and to disclose credible time-bound plans for transition.
"At our core, we are committed to supporting and challenging our portfolio companies in their efforts to transform their business models into net zero emissions before 2050. This work is ongoing," the company said in a statement to.
It added that "voting is just one of many tools we can use." "We engage directly with companies in our portfolio, including the largest emitters, through bilateral dialogue based on?our climate expectations." The company has said that it will continue to press companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, "because climate risks are financial risks".
BP IN FOCUS According to Brooks, this year's fund actions at the BP AGM, in April, demonstrated a lack of proactive management? on climate-related risks.
She said that on three occasions, NBIM chose not to join the majority of investors who demanded better disclosure and oversight for BP's fossil fuel strategy. Instead, they protected BP's board position.
The fund said at the time that it would not support "a shareholder proposal which appears to be too prescriptive in regard to the company’s strategy or operations, or that sets unreasonable timeframes or targets for implementation."
This week, it said that "we are explicit in our statement that boards and management have responsibility for strategic and operational decisions including capital allocation decisions". (Reporting from Gwladys Fauch in Oslo; editing by Toby Chopra).
(source: Reuters)
