Noorwegen investeert niet meer in kolenindustrie

6 juni 2015 – Het Noorse parlement heeft gisteren besloten dat het investeringsfonds van de staat niet meer zal beleggen in bedrijven die meer dan 30% van hun omzet uit kolen halen.

Greenpeace Noorwegen reageerde opgetogen: ‘This is the biggest divestment from coal in history and it should pave the way for other investors and countries to follow suit,’ says head of Greenpeace in Norway, Truls Gulowsen.

Het persbericht van Greenpeace over het Noorse besluit
Today the Norwegian parliament unanimously voted for the Norwegian Government Pension Fund (GPFG) to adopt strong divestment criteria for companies involved in coal mining and coal fired utilities.
“Norway’s decision to take a stand against coal is an example for other governments – and for investors – about shifting from polluting energy sources towards clean, renewable power,” says Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo.
Not only is this a unique achievement, it is also a forceful measure. The Government Pension Fund Global is the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund and according to calculations made by Urgewald, Greenpeace and Future in Our Hands the new criteria will most likely make the GPFG be forced to divest from 122 companies totaling NOK 67.2 billion or € 7.7 billion.
“This is the biggest divestment from coal in history and it should pave the way for other investors and countries to follow suit,” says head of Greenpeace in Norway, Truls Gulowsen.
The exclusion criteria specifically states that any company that derives more than 30 percent of its activity from coal will be excluded from GPFG’s portfolio. This includes both coal mining and coal fired utilities. This saves some of the bigger utilities and integrated miners from exclusion, such as BHP Billiton and Glencore, they can however, still be forced out at a later stage due to other measures that the fund employs.

“It is a day for celebration, but the GPFG will not be rid of every coal company in its portfolio as well as tens of billions of dollars still invested in the oil and gas industry. Norway is also still engaged in Arctic oil drilling, so while this is great news, there is still lots of work to do for Norway before it can brand itself as truly climate friendly,” says mr. Gulowsen.

At the upcoming G7 meeting in Bavaria, today’s decision by the Norwegian government should be a wake-up call to the world’s top emitters, all of whom are attending the summit. The G7 group of countries have not done enough to significantly reduce their CO2 emissions and to make a fair contribution to prevent climate change. At the summit, the G7 needs to decide to switch to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050.

“That the entire Norwegian parliament, across the political spectrum, came together in this decision should serve as inspiration for politicians around the world in the lead up to the G7 meeting and December’s crucial climate summit, in Paris,” says Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo.

Bronnen
Greenpeace Noorwegen, 5 juni 2015: Norway’s “No to Coal” Marks Major Victory for Climate Movement