Posted on 13 March 2014
| Oslo, Norway: The government of Norway
will mandate the country’s sovereign wealth
fund, the largest in the world, to invest
in renewable energy, Prime Minister Erna
Solberg announced in Oslo today.
“We are thrilled that
Norway is stepping forward to lead on renewable
energy,” says Nina Jensen, CEO of WWF-Norway.
“If done at scale, this will have global
impact and redefine how we use money consistent
with commitments to limit climate change.
“We have long advocated
that the fund invest up to 5% in infrastructure
for renewable energy. This will require
a change in the guidelines for the fund,
similar to the mandate to investing in property
that was granted in 2010.
“The pension fund is
the largest state investor in the world.
A solid renewable energy mandate will send
a tremendously powerful signal and set the
standard for other international investors.”
Solberg promised that
the government would create a renewable
energy investment mandate with the same
management requirements as other investments
in the fund. Full details of the investment
mandate will be delivered on April 4 by
Norway’s finance minister.
“The mandate should
allow for direct investment in renewable
infrastructure where a large scale of capital
is urgently needed,” says WWF financial
analyst, Lars Erik Mangset. “We will be
looking to see if the government award a
mandate to allow up to 5% of the fund to
be invested into renewable energy infrastructure
and exactly how they extended the fund to
invest in real estate.”
WWF is running a global
campaign, Seize Your Power, calling on financial
institutions including major sovereign wealth
funds, pension funds and multilateral development
banks to significantly increase their funding
of renewable energy and cut funding to fossil
fuels as a key means of tackling climate
change.
Det Skjer!, as the campaign
is called in Norway, has seen WWF-Norway
leading a coalition of thirteen organisations
pushing for the Norwegian sovereign wealth
fund (Government Pension Fund Global) to
invest directly in infrastructure, including
renewable energy.
A significant push has
also been made on the need to divest from
highly polluting fossil fuels such as coal
and tar-sands. WWF and partners called for
an investment in renewable energy infrastructure
last September, which was responded to by
the prime minister saying the government
would “consider” such a move.
In the past twelve months
the World Bank, European Investment Bank
and the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development have all committed to virtually
end coal investments. Norwegian private
pension fund provider Storebrand has also
divested from 29 coal and tar sands companies
in the past year because of their obvious
carbon exposure.
"It is rare that
one government alone can bend the curve
on climate change. Norway, through its sovereign
wealth fund, can,” says Samantha Smith,
Leader, WWF’s Global Climate & Energy
Initiative. “WWF now looks to Norway's leaders
to commit to renewable energy investment
at a scale that will make a global difference.
This will be their legacy, and we are watching."
+ More
EU reps speak out about
Soco’s Virunga exploration
Posted on 11 March 2014
| Brussels - Two European diplomats have
expressed concerns about oil exploration
activities being conducted by a UK oil company
in an African World Heritage Site. The European
Union Commissioner for Development Andris
Piebalgs and Belgium’s Minister of Development
Cooperation Jean-Pascal Labille issued a
joint declaration on the issue Friday after
returning from a visit to Virunga National
Park in Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC).
The officials recognized
that Virunga is a critical economic driver
for eastern DRC, and has the potential to
spur further sustainable development in
the region. Piebalgs and Labille noted,
however, that the site’s nature is particularly
sensitive, and that oil production would
be a major risk.
During their mission,
the men met with representatives of civil
society organizations who reported that
threats have been made against some nearby
residents who oppose oil exploitation in
Africa’s oldest national park.
Soco International PLC
may start seismic tests in Virunga’s Lake
Edward as early as this month, and plans
to limit access to fishermen during testing.
An independent economic analysis of the
park commissioned by WWF found that 50,000
people depend on the lake for jobs, food
and freshwater.
In their statement,
Piebalgs and Labille triggered an urgent
call to action for all relevant authorities
and company shareholders to do their utmost
to ensure that Soco upholds corporate social
responsibility standards and the provisions
of international treaties, such as the UNESCO
World Heritage Convention.
UNESCO maintains that
oil exploitation is incompatible with World
Heritage Status and has called for the cancellation
of all Virunga oil permits. The UK foreign
office and the EU, Belgian and German parliaments
have previously voiced disapproval of Soco’s
exploration in Virunga.
