On Monday, one of the Swedish national pension funds called “Second AP fund” announced that they are divesting from 20 fossil fuel companies. They ditched all their investments in coal (12 companies) and pulled their investments out of eight oil and gas companies, citing the financial risk associated with these assets.
CEO Eva Halvarsson said:
By not investing in a number of companies, we are reducing our exposure to risk constituted by fossil-fuel based energy. This decision will help to protect the Fund’s long-term return on investment.
The fund also states that they do not exclude divestment from more companies in this sector. They are thereby opening up for further fossil fuel divestment.
This is an important first step for the Second AP fund – but there is still a long way to go.
A year ago, Andra AP-fonden had 5,9 billion SEK invested in 103 of the world’s largest 200 fossil fuel companies, according to WWF Sweden. This means they still invest around 5 billion SEK in around 83 of these companies. According to investigations by Hållbart Näringsliv they divested 90% of their investments in the “Coal and Consumable Fuels” sector, 33% of their investments in “Oil and Gas Exploration” and 4% of investments in“Integrated Oil”.
Our call to Andra AP-fonden and to Swedish politicians is clear: It is neither morally acceptable nor financially responsible to invest in the fossil fuel industry. It is their responsibility to promote a clean and safe future, and completely divest from fossil fuels.
Pension money is meant to secure people’s future and the way it is invested shapes the future we will live in. The fossil fuel industry belongs to the past, and a responsible investor can choose to promote a future with renewable and just energy production.
This is a great win for the Swedish and global divestment movement, and we will continue to fight for fair fossil free pensions together!