(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
[wealth] The climate and Burma investment debates have again put the oil fund's ethical guidelines on the agenda. Now Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen wants to reclaim the initiative and invite 16. and 17. January to the Kick off conference at Oslo Plaza to evaluate the ethical guidelines. Attac is less patient and starts the debate with a large-scale oil conference at the Craftsman 12. and 13. October.
- The Norwegian oil wealth comes from a business that contributes greatly to climate change. When we link the oil fund to future pensions, we can contribute to the exploitation of nature and workers in other countries to get a return, says Helene Bank, board member of Attac. At the same time, she believes that the oil fund is a tool that can be used positively.
- Where we can have the greatest effect is through the fact that especially the large companies are afraid of having a bad reputation. The fund managers must speak out loud to push the most environmentally and worker-hostile companies in the right direction.
Bank also believes that the fund should be invested in climate-friendly energy and technology, an investment that will also be very profitable in the long term.
- But greater resources are needed to keep track of how all the approximately 3500 companies the fund is invested in behave, she says.
Joakim Hammerlin is a moral philosopher and has written a report on how Norges Bank manages the fund. He thinks Norges Bank needs to think more about climate.
- They should promote more shareholder proposals, support the Carbon Disclosure Project and put stronger pressure on individual companies to improve their climate profile. In addition, Norges Bank should open up for divestments in companies that oppose ecologically sustainable development and open up for theme-based investments or a separate environmental fund, Hammerlin believes.
SV was active in the fight to establish ethical guidelines, and both Bank and Hammerlin believe that SV therefore has a particular responsibility for the fact that it adopted the objective that the fund should contribute to sustainable development is actually implemented in practice.
Facts: The Oil Fund
- Officially called the Government Pension Fund – Global.
- The value is now more than 2.000 billion kroner.
- The Ministry of Finance plans to present its evaluation in the spring of 2009.
