The Norwegian oil fund, which has a trillion-dollar budget, just passed a resolution requiring a U.S. refiner to submit a climate report. It’s because, I suppose, lecturing about climate change to other companies somehow erases all guilt over making money from oil.
Reuters reported that Norges Bank Investment Management, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which manages a $1.4 trillion portfolio, was taking a “tougher stance” against companies that did not have sufficiently credible climate plans. This plan, announced last year, is unfortunately now in effect. Reuters reported that the fund “was built on cash from Norway’s oil and natural gas industry.”
NBIM is happy to complicate the lives of other companies by promoting its environmental virtues. The company has also promised to vote for a shareholder resolution that would require Valero Energy, a U.S. refiner, to submit a report on climate goals. Valero warns that stricter environmental regulations will force refineries to shut down.
Climate change “experts”, of course, have consistently been wrong and in the wrong for over 50 years. Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that global warming hasn’t occurred in the last eight years. Climate alarmists continue to predict imminent disaster despite this.
From Reuters:
A shareholder asked Valero to vote on the plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the short, medium, and long term. The shareholder wanted the company to be aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement’s goal to limit global warming.
NBIM stated on its website that Valero’s board of directors should take into account the material sustainability risks the company faces as well as the broader environmental, social, and economic consequences of the company’s operations and products.
Valero’s board has already recommended that the motion regarding Paris climate goals be rejected, warning the arbitrariness of climate goals could lead to the closure of oil refineries. This is at a time when many countries, including the U.S., are already facing an energy crisis. Reuters reported that Valero instead recommended pursuing “low-carbon energy production”. The self-righteous Norwegian Fund does not seem to think that this is enough.
As noted above, the NBIM-managed fund was created using money from Norway’s oil and gas sector. Reuters reported that the Norwegian fund held a 1.07% share in Valero at the end of 2022. This stake was valued at $523,000,000. If NBIM’s woke, irrational, and climate-friendly plans are successful, the value of this stake could decrease.
