Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global announced late last week the exclusion of 52 coal-linked companies following analysis by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the sovereign wealth fund. “Norges Bank’s Executive Board made the exclusion decision based on recommendations from Norges Bank Investment Management. The Executive Board has found that the recommendations [satisfy] the exclusion criteria and that the companies can be excluded from the fund,” according to an NBIM release.
The decision was based on a new product-related criterion under the guidelines for observation and exclusion from the Government Pension Fund that took effect Feb 1. “The new criterion states that coal power companies and mining companies who themselves, or through other operations they control, base 30 percent or more of their activities on coal, and/or derive 30 percent of their revenues from coal, may be excluded from the GPFG,” according to a Norges Bank document.
Companies dropped from the fund include American Electric Power Co., China Shenhua Energy Co., Drax Group, Peabody Energy Corp., and Xcel Energy.
The release says further exclusions will be made this year.
