Gwladys Fuouche

OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s sovereign wealth fund of $1.3 trillion will demand that many companies from its portfolio adopt more concrete actions on climate change, according to the head of governance.

We have been focusing for years on improved company disclosure…Now we’re concentrating more on taking actions. “So now, you have to move from numbers to actions, concrete steps that companies take to meet expectations,” Carine Smith-Ihenacho stated in an interview during the Reuters Next conference.

This fund, which is 1.4% of all stock exchange traded stocks, is among the most powerful investors in the world. It is the leader on many issues related to corporate, environmental and social governance (ESG).

According to the fund, its carbon footprint in 2019 was estimated at 107.6 millions tonnes CO2 equivalent. This is roughly double what Norway emits that year.

The company was established 25 years ago in order to share the oil and gas revenues of Norway with future generations. It has also invested abroad in stock, bonds and property, as well unlisted renewable projects.

This fund also sets out for the first times expectations of the companies that it invests in regarding how they will protect biodiversity.

Smith Ihenacho explained that “the first step really is to assess in detail which companies are most exposed and which companies are trailing, then we’ll engage (in particular) in sectors exposed such as the extractive sector, or the food sector.”

For the election season, it might be that we vote against company chairs or chairpersons of the relevant committees where they aren’t addressing the issue in an appropriate manner.

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