Norway's sovereign wealth fund should stop investing in coal, government says
Norway's parliamentary parties have agreed that the country's $900 billion sovereign wealth fund should stop investing in coal companies because of their impact on climate change.
Under new rules to be presented by Parliament's finance committee on Thursday, the fund — also known as the oil fund — would exclude companies that get at least 30 per cent of their revenue from mining coal or burning it.
The move is expected to be formally approved by the full Parliament on June 5 because both government and opposition parties are behind it.
"Investments in coal companies can have both a climate risk and a future financial risk," said Svein Flaatten of the governing Conservative party.
Broad support
The move was welcomed by environmentalists who have estimated the fund's coal holdings at about $11 billion. It wasn't immediately clear how much of those investments would be affected.
"We expect that billions of euros will be withdrawn from the coal industry, when this happens," said Truls Gulowsen from Greenpeace. "This is a huge win for the divestment movement and a real sign of hope that investment patterns can be changed."