Norway’s largest pension plan has removed four Canadian energy companies from its investment list and has announced that it will no longer put money into companies that derive more than five percent of their turnover from oil sands development.
KLP has announced that it has sold the tolerance threshold for companies holding interests in the oil sands from 30 percent to 5 percent from $ 30 million to $ 5 million, which is the threshold for its investments in coal.
The fund says it will now exclude investments in Cenovus Energy, Suncor Energy, Imperial Oil and Husky Energy. He will do the same with the Russian company Tatneft PAO.
The shares of the four companies have fallen over the past year, as growth has outpaced pipeline capacity, resulting in sharp price reductions and the imposition of legally mandated production limits in Alberta.
Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist at Greenpeace Canada, said in an email that institutional investors continue to abandon high-carbon investments because they “can see where the puck is moving.”
In a press release, the Norwegian fund, which manages assets of more than US $ 81 billion, said that a total exit from the oil sands was “good news” for consumers, because this activity is not aligned with a target of two degrees Celsius against global warming.
“By disposing of coal and the oil sands, we are sending a strong message about the urgency of switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy,” KLP chief executive Sverre Thornes said in a statement.
Canadian Petroleum Producers Association President Tim McMillan In Email Response Responds Any Attempt To Hinder Canadian Production By Withdrawing Funding Will Result In Allowing Other States With Lower Environmental Standards take the opportunity to fill the void.
Tim McMillan says Canadian oil and gas producers “operate under some of the toughest regulatory systems in the world”, adding that the International Energy Agency predicts that natural gas and oil will remain a major source of energy until 2040.
“Canada can make the world a better place to live by providing reliable, affordable and responsibly produced energy to help raise living standards around the world,” he wrote.
