A Nordic hedge fund worth more than $ 90 billion (£ 68.6bn) has its shares in some of the world’s largest oil companies and miners responsible for lobbying against climate action.
Storebrand, a Norwegian asset manager, split from miner Rio Tinto, as well as US oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron as part of a new climate policy targeted at companies using their political clout to block green policies.
The investor is one of many large financial institutions separated from polluting industry, but is understood to be the first to dump shares in companies that use their influence to slow down the pace of climate action.
Jan Erik Saugestad, CEO of Storebrand, said that corporate lobbying activity designed to undermine solutions to “the greatest risks facing humanity today” is “simply unacceptable”.
Storebrand will also separate from German chemical company BASF and American electricity supplier Southern Company for lobbying against climate change, and a string of companies that receive more than 5% of their revenue from coal or oil sands.
“We need to accelerate oil and gas prices without paying attention to carbon offsets and carbon capture and storage. Sustainable energy sources such as solar and wind energy are easily available alternatives, ”he said.
“The Exxons and Chevrons of the world are holding us back,” he added. “This first move does not mean that BP, Shell, Equinor and other oil and gas majors can easily rest and move on with business as usual, even though they perform relatively better than American oil marketers.”
ExxonMobil lobbyists met with key European Commission officials in an attempt to water the European Green Deal in the weeks before it was agreed, according to watchdog InfluenceMap for climate lobbying.
Saugestad said he expects Storebrand investors to take the lead in separating companies that support anti-climate lobbying “as part of a logical progression in global fossil fuel disinvestment”.
InfluenceMap has previously found that five of the largest listed oil companies – including Exxon, Chevron, Shell, BP and Total – are spending about $ 200m a year lobbying to delay, control or block policies to tackle climate change.
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The analysis found that BP spent the most on lobbying activities. The company has successfully created lobbyists from U.S. policymakers to weaken environmental legislation, pave the way for new projects, such as oil pipelines and power plants, to move forward with much less federal review of their environmental impact.
Under the new CEO of BP, Bernard Looney, the company has undertaken a major review of its memberships of lobby groups and concluded ties with three associations due to disagreements over its climate-related policies and activities. It has also set ambitious climate targets for the next 10 years, and until 2050.
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