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Dutch healthcare pension fund slashes fossil fuel investments

February 8, 2024
Photo: Depositphotos.com

The Netherlands’ second biggest pension fund said on Thursday it has sold 97% of its investments in the oil and gas industries because the shift from fossil to renewable energy is not taking place fast enough.

PFZW, which provides pensions for 2.9 million health service workers, said it has decided to sell after two years of pressuring companies to reform. In total, PFZW sold stakes in 310 companies, including Shell, TotalEnergies and BP, with a total value of €2.8 billion.

“The intensive shareholder dialogue over the past two years with the oil and gas sector on climate has made it clear to us that most fossil fuel companies are not prepared to adapt their business models to ‘Paris’,” said Joanne Kellermann, chair of the board of PFZW.

“While the largest companies in this sector do invest in sustainable forms of energy, the switch from fossil to low carbon is not nearly fast enough. This reflects the slow pace we see globally in the transition to renewable energy.’

Seven companies have their climate strategy in order and remain in the fund’s portfolio, including Worley, Neste Oyj and Galp Energia. PFZW has €237.8 billion in assets under management.

Earlier ABP, the civil service pension fund and one of the biggest in the world, sold fossil fuel interests to the value of €9 billion.

Engineering pension fund PMT said in December it had decided to stop investing in 40 oil and gas companies because they are not environment-friendly enough, but will continue to put money into nine others, including Shell and BP.

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Business Economy Fossil fuels Pensions
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