Norway Goes Big on Fossil Fuel Divestment... Now Who's Next?

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Norway Goes Big on Fossil Fuel Divestment... Now Who's Next?

[ http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/0 ... -whos-next ]

As world's largest sovereign wealth fund aims to break free of coal, campaigners call it a step in the right direction and a signal to leaders across the globe.

by Jon Queally, staff writer Friday, 5 June, 2015 by Common Dreams

In a move that climate justice campaigners are heralding as a challenge to other powerful decision-makers and investors around the world, the Norwegian parliament on Friday approved a measure calling for the Norwegian Government Pension Fund—the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world with holdings of approximately $890 billion—to begin divesting from companies heavily involved with the mining, transportation, or burning of coal.
[ http://www.greenpeace.org/international ... log/53130/ ]

With a global fossil fuel divestment campaign just a few years old, the move by parliament will make Norway's financial withdrawal from the industry the single largest of its kind.

The new law will mean .. the pension fund will be forbidden from investing in any company that relies on coal for more than 30 percent of its income. As Damian Carrington reports for the Guardian, [ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... ysis-shows ] that is likely to end up "affecting 122 companies across the world" and financial analyses have estimated that it could ultimately affect approximately $8 billion of the fund’s current investments. The process of divesting from the companies who meet the threshold will begin next year, though the applause over the move began immediately.

"With Norway’s decision, coal divestment has gone mainstream highlighting both the moral imperative and financial case for divestment," said Nicolo Wojewoda, head of 350.org’s European team, which led the campaign in Norway. "Other institutions are left with no excuse to not follow suit. Coal is on its last leg; with king coal falling from its throne, we are all more inspired to go after big oil and gas."

Johan Hammerstrøm, communication director for Greenpeace Nordic, met the vote by calling the vote in Norway an "historic decision" with potentially far-reaching implications. [ http://www.greenpeace.org/international ... log/53130/ ]

"It is the first time in history that all our politicians — left-leaning and right-leaning — have come together to take a stand against coal," said Hammerstrøm. "The parliament unanimously voted for the Norwegian Government Pension Fund to classify most companies involved in coal mining and coal-fired utilities as unacceptable investment options. Not only is this a unique achievement, it is a step in the right direction and a signal to leaders across the globe. The Government Pension Fund is the world’s largest wealth fund not privately owned and the new measures means that according to Greenpeace Nordic’s and Urgewald’s initial estimate, 120 companies will be targeted for a divestment totalling 8 billion US dollars."

The final approval has been anticipated since a parliamentary panel recommended the move last week, but divestment activists from around the world who kept the pressure on Norwegian politicians throughout the process say it is nearly unbelievable that Norway's divestment from fossil fuels—though neither total nor perfect—has come to pass.

"If you’d told any of us, three years ago, that the planet’s largest sovereign wealth fund would begin divesting, we would have laughed," said 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben. "The way this idea—that the world has far more fossil fuel than it can burn—has spread is an enormously hopeful sign. There’s much work to be done taking on coal, oil, and gas but the momentum is definitely on our side."

"Other institutions are left with no excuse to not follow suit. Coal is on its last leg; with king coal falling from its throne, we are all more inspired to go after big oil and gas." —Nicolo Wojewoda, 350.org

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