World's largest sovereign fund faces activist future with green agenda as climate change will frame all politics

Norway’s political establishment has started debating whether to use the world’s largest sovereign-wealth fund as a tool that could help shape the global agenda on green investing.
“Climate change will frame all politics,” Jonas Gahr Store told the state broadcaster NRK on Thursday. He is leader of the opposition party in Norway. | Photo: Jacob Ehrbahn
“Climate change will frame all politics,” Jonas Gahr Store told the state broadcaster NRK on Thursday. He is leader of the opposition party in Norway. | Photo: Jacob Ehrbahn
BY MIKAEL HOLTER & SVEINUING SLEIRE / BLOOMBERG

The opposition Labor Party, the biggest group in Norway’s parliament, dropped a bombshell this week. Its leader, Jonas Gahr Store, wants the USD 1trn vehicle to take on a more political role. He says that would allow Norway, through the fund, to do more to promote sustainable energy production. More specifically, the fund could significantly step up its green investment, he said.

“Climate change will frame all politics,” Store told the state broadcaster NRK on Thursday. The wealth fund should be “the first in line to develop the opportunities offered by renewable energy ­ also for profits,” he said. That includes possibly raising a 2 percent cap on investments in renewable energy infrastructure, he said. Labor has shown an increasing willingness to shape the fund’s mandate during its years in opposition under Store.

Already a subscriber?Log in here

Read the whole article

Get access for 14 days for free. No credit card is needed, and you will not be automatically signed up for a paid subscription after the free trial.

With your free trial you get:

  • Access all locked articles
  • Receive our daily newsletters
  • Access our app
  • Must be at least 8 characters, including three of: Uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols
    Must contain at least 2 characters
    Must contain at least 2 characters

    Get full access for you and your coworkers

    Start a free company trial today

    Share article

    Sign up for our newsletter

    Stay ahead of development by receiving our newsletter on the latest sector knowledge.

    Newsletter terms

    Front page now

    Further reading