Storebrand says drops 10 coal firms from pension fund
16/11/2017 07:00
BONN, Germany, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Storebrand, Norway's
largest private pension fund, said on Thursday it had dropped 10
coal companies including Germany's RWE AG RWEG.DE from its $80
billion portfolio under tighter self-imposed guidelines on
climate change.
Storebrand said the divestments, announced during
negotiations among almost 200 nations on climate change in
Germany, totalled 145.6 million Norwegian crowns ($17.69
million).
Storebrand said it had sold out of Eskom Holdings Ltd,
Polska Grupa Energetyczna PGE.WA , Uniper SE UN01.DE , Genting
International Plc, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Kyushu Electric
Power 9508.T , Origin Energy Ltd ORG.AX , EDP Energias do
Brasil ENBR3.SA , RWE AG RWEG.DE and Power Assets Holdings
Ltd 0006.HK .
The new criteria included restricting investments in
companies involved in the construction of new power plants.
"We see it as our responsibility to challenge the coal
industry even further and pull our money out of ten more
companies with sizeable new developments in coal-fired power
plants," Jan Erik Saugestad, CEO of Storebrand Asset Management,
wrote of the decision.
"The 14,300 MW under construction by these companies exceeds
the entire coal power capacity of the United Kingdom and
Ireland, or more than the entire coal power capacity of Greece,
the Netherlands, and France," he said.
Storebrand said it began phasing out investments in coal
companies in 2013, part of a divestment movement that says
greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal are a major
contributor to global warming.
($1 = 8.2323 Norwegian crowns)
(Reporting By Alister Doyle, editing by David Evans)
((alister.doyle@thomsonreuters.com; +47 4683 74 83;))
Keywords: CLIMATECHANGE ACCORD/STOREBRAND