Norges Bank, which manages Norway's USD 1 trillion fund, announced its decision to exclude 12 companies from the Government Pension Fund Global due to environmental and human rights concerns.
On 13 May 2020, Norges Bank has decided to exclude five companies from the Government Pension Fund Global and place four companies on an observation list after an assessment against the product-based coal criterion.
Following recommendations by the Council on Ethics decided to exclude four Canadian companies (Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, Suncor Energy and Imperial Oil) due to 'unacceptable climate gas emissions' linked to oil sand production. It is the first time this criterion has been applied to the fund's exclusion list. It also excluded ElSewedy Electric and Vale due to 'severe environmental damage' and Eletrobras due to 'serious human rights violations'.
Norges Bank also excluded five companies (Sasol, RWE, Glencore, Anglo American & AGL Energy) on its own initiative due to new thresholds for product based coal, the first time this criterion has been applied. BHP, Vistra Energy, Enel and Uniper were placed under observation.
