Norway’s $1-trillion sovereign wealth fund has blacklisted four Canadian oil and gas companies from its portfolio for producing excessive greenhouse gas emissions.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (T.CNQ)., Cenovus Energy Inc. (T.CVE), Suncor Energy Inc. (T.SU) and Imperial Oil Ltd. (T.IMO) were each excluded from the fund due to "unacceptable greenhouse gas emissions," said Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) in a news release.
The four Canadian oil and gas producers are the first companies to be excluded from the fund.
Excessive carbon emissions became a criterion for exclusion from the fund four years ago, joining the production of nuclear arms, landmines and tobacco, human rights violations and other grounds for removal, said NBIM.
The ethics council had examined companies in the oil, cement and steel sectors before recommending its first exclusions based on excessive greenhouse gas pollution, the fund said.
NBIM said it is also excluding three other companies at the same time as the Canadian ones – Egypt’s ElSewedy Electric Co, Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA and Brazilian power holding Eletrobras for also causing environmental damage.
NBIM, which is a unit of Norway’s central bank, was set up in 1996 to save petroleum revenues for future generations. It is among the world’s largest investors, owning around 1.5% of all globally listed shares. Its exclusions are often followed by other sovereign funds.
